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Webster 1913 Edition

Stain

Stain

(stān)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stained
(stānd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Staining
.]
[Abbrev. fr.
distain
.]
1.
To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot;
as, to
stain
the hand with dye; armor
stained
with blood
.
2.
To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processes affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye;
as, to
stain
wood with acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to
stain
glass
.
3.
To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish.
Of honor void,
Of innocence, of faith, of purity,
Our wonted ornaments now soiled and
stained
.
Milton.
4.
To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
She
stains
the ripest virgins of her age.
Beau. & Fl.
That did all other beasts in beauty
stain
.
Spenser.
Stained glass
,
glass colored or stained by certain metallic pigments fused into its substance, – often used for making ornamental windows.
Syn. – To paint; dye; blot; soil; sully; discolor; disgrace; taint.
–
Paint
,
Stain
,
Dye
. These denote three different processes; the first mechanical, the other two, chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is to spread a coat of coloring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is to impart color to its substance. To stain is said chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one, commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the other more complex, as fixing colors by mordants.

Stain

,
Verb.
I.
To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.

Stain

,
Noun.
1.
A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot;
as, a
stain
on a garment or cloth
.
Shak.
2.
A natural spot of a color different from the gound.
Swift trouts, diversified with crimson
stains
.
Pope.
3.
Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach.
Nor death itself can wholly wash their
stains
.
Dryden.
Our opinion . . . is, I trust, without any blemish or
stain
of heresy.
Hooker.
4.
Cause of reproach; shame.
Sir P. Sidney.
5.
A tincture; a tinge.
[R.]
You have some
stain
of soldier in you.
Shakespeare
Syn. – Blot; spot; taint; pollution; blemish; tarnish; color; disgrace; infamy; shame.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stain

STAIN

,
Verb.
T.
[L., a sprinkle, a spread, a layer; to spread, expand, sprinkle, or be scattered. Gr.]
1.
To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; to stain clothes with vegetable juice; to stain paper; armor stained with blood.
2.
To dye; to tinge with a different color; as, to stain cloth.
3.
To impress with figures, in colors different from the ground; as, to stain paper for hangings.
4.
To blot; to soil; to spot with guilt or infamy; to tarnish; to bring reproach on; as, to stain the character.
Of honor void, of innocence, of faith, of purity, our wonted ornaments now soild and staind.

STAIN

,
Noun.
1.
A spot; discoloration from foreign matter; as a stain on a garment or cloth.
2.
A natural spot of a color different from the ground.
Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains.
3.
Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach; as the stain of sin.
Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains.
Our opinion is, I hope, without any blemish or stain of heresy.
4.
Cause of reproach; shame.
Hereby I will lead her that is the praise and yet the stain of all womankind.

Definition 2024

stain

stain

See also: stáin

English

Noun

stain ‎(plural stains)

  1. A discoloured spot or area.
  2. A blemish on one's character or reputation.
  3. A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it.
  4. A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

stain ‎(third-person singular simple present stains, present participle staining, simple past and past participle stained)

  1. To discolour something
    to stain the hand with dye
    armour stained with blood
  2. To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
    • Milton
      Of honour void, / Of innocence, of faith, of purity, / Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.
  3. To coat a surface with a stain
    to stain wood with acids, coloured washes, paint rubbed in, etc.
    the stained glass used for church windows
  4. (cytology) To treat a microscope specimen with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
  5. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      She stains the ripest virgins of her age.
    • Spenser
      that did all other beasts in beauty stain

Translations

Anagrams

Gothic

Romanization

stain

  1. Romanization of 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽

Etymology

From Middle English steinen, steynen ‎(“to stain, colour, paint”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse steina ‎(“to stain, colour, paint”), from steinn ‎(“stone, mineral blee, colour, stain”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ ‎(stainaz), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz ‎(“stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *stAy- ‎(“stone”). Cognate with Old English stān ‎(“stone”). More at stone.

In some senses, influenced by unrelated Middle English disteynen ‎(“to discolor, remove the colour from"; literally, "de-colour”), from Anglo-Norman desteindre ‎(“to remove the colour from, bleach”), from Old French destaindre ‎(“to remove the color from, bleach”), from des- ‎(“dis-, de-, un-”) + teindre ‎(“to dye”), from Latin tingo.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -eɪn

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