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Webster 1913 Edition

Spoil

Spoil

(spoil)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spoiled
(spoild)
or
Spoilt
(spoilt)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Spoiling
.]
[F.
spolier
, OF.
espoillier
, fr. L.
spoliare
, fr.
spolium
spoil. Cf.
Despoil
,
Spoliation
.]
1.
To plunder; to strip by violence; to pillage; to rob; – with of before the name of the thing taken;
as, to
spoil
one of his goods or possessions
.
“Ye shall spoil the Egyptians.”
Ex. iii. 22.
My sons their old, unhappy sire despise,
Spoiled
of his kingdom, and deprived of eyes.
Pope.
2.
To seize by violence; to take by force; to plunder.
No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and
spoil
his goods, except he will first bind the strong man.
Mark iii. 27.
3.
To cause to decay and perish; to corrupt; to vitiate; to mar.
Spiritual pride
spoils
many graces.
Jer. Taylor.
4.
To render useless by injury; to injure fatally; to ruin; to destroy;
as, to
spoil
paper; to have the crops
spoiled
by insects; to
spoil
the eyes by reading.

Spoil

(spoil)
,
Verb.
I.
1.
To practice plunder or robbery.
Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and
spoil
.
Spenser.
2.
To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay;
as, fruit will soon
spoil
in warm weather
.

Spoil

,
Noun.
[Cf. OF.
espoille
, L.
spolium
.]
1.
That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty.
Gentle gales,
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy
spoils
.
Milton.
2.
Public offices and their emoluments regarded as the peculiar property of a successful party or faction, to be bestowed for its own advantage; – commonly in the plural;
as, to the victor belong the
spoils
.
From a principle of gratitude I adhered to the coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the
spoil
.
Gibbon.
3.
That which is gained by strength or effort.
Each science and each art his
spoil
.
Bentley.
4.
The act or practice of plundering; robbery; waste.
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treason, stratagems, and
spoils
.
Shakespeare
5.
Corruption; cause of corruption.
[Archaic]
Villainous company hath been the
spoil
of me.
Shakespeare
6.
The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
Spoil bank
,
a bank formed by the earth taken from an excavation, as of a canal.
–
The spoils system
,
the theory or practice of regarding public offices and their emoluments as so much plunder to be distributed among their active partisans by those who are chosen to responsible offices of administration.

Webster 1828 Edition

Spoil

SPOIL

,
Verb.
T.
[L., to pull asunder, to tear, to strip, to peel.]
1.
To plunder; to strip by violence; to rob; with of; as, to spoil one of his goods or possessions.
My sons their old unhappy sire despise, Spoild of his kingdom, and deprivd of eyes.
2.
To seize by violence; to take by force; as, to spoil ones goods.
This mount with all his verdure spoild--
3.
To corrupt; to cause to decay and perish. Heat and moisture will soon spoil vegetable and animal substances.
4.
To corrupt; to vitiate; to mar.
Spiritual pride spoils many graces.
5.
To ruin; to destroy. Our crops are sometimes spoiled by insects.
6.
To render useless by injury; as, to spoil paper by wetting it.
7.
To injure fatally; as, to spoil the eyes by reading.

SPOIL

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To practice plunder or robbery.
--Outlaws which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil.
2.
To decay; to lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather. Grain will spoil, if gathered when wet or moist.

SPOIL

,
Noun.
[L.]
1.
That which is taken from others by violence; particularly in war, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty.
2.
That which is gained by strength or effort.
Each science and each art his spoil.
3.
That which is taken from another without license.
Gentle gales fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole their balmy spoils.
4.
The act or practice of plundering; robbery; waste.
The man that hath not music in himself, nor is not movd with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treason, stratagems and spoils.
5.
Corruption; cause of corruption.
Villainous company hath been the spoil of me.
6.
The slough or cast skin of a serpent or other animal.

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