Stain

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪn

Origin

From Middle English steinen, steynen ("to stain, colour, paint"), of origin, from Old Norse steina ("to stain, colour, paint"), from steinn ("stone, mineral blee, colour, stain"), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ, 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 desteindre ("to remove the color from, bleach"), from des- ("dis-, de-, un-") + teindre ("to dye"), from Latin tingo.

Full definition of stain

Noun

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

• bloodstain

Verb

1. To discolour somethingto stain the hand with dyearmour stained with blood
2. To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
• MiltonOf honour void,
  Of innocence, of faith, of purity,
  Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.
3. To coat a surface with a stainto stain wood with acids, coloured washes, paint rubbed in, etc.the stained glass used for church windows
4. To treat a microscope specimen with a dye
5. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
• Beaumont and FletcherShe stains the ripest virgins of her age.
• Spenserthat did all other beasts in beauty stain

Anagrams

• antis
• saint, Saint
• satin, sat in
• tians
• tisan