stain

Meaning

Noun

1. A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances.
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.
5. One of a number of non-standard tinctures used chiefly in post-medieval heraldry, especially tenné, murrey, or sanguine.

Verb

1. (transitive) To discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
2. To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
3. To coat a surface with a stain
4. (intransitive) To become stained; to take a stain.
5. (transitive) To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
6. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.

Synonyms

spot

blot

blemish

dye

soil

mark

smear

dirty

color

smudge

tint

tarnish

colour

smirch

taint

sully

tinge

paint

speck

dirt

stigma

discoloration

blotch

flaw

besmirch

defile

pigment

speckle

tincture

smut

filth

blur

defect

scar

contaminate

staining

get dirty

pollute

make dirty

discolouration

discolor

maculate

grime

slur

foul

brand

rust

spoil

colouring

spatter

Translations

tache

Fleck

mancha

macchia

manchar

mancha

vlek

macchiare

taca

beflecken

κηλίδα

färben

bevlekken

souillure

Pronounced as (IPA)

/steɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: steinen

Cognate with Old English: stān

In summary

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 blue, colour, stain”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ (stainaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”). Cognate with Old English stān (“stone”). More at stone.
Replaced native Middle English wem (“spot, blemish, stain”), from Old English wamm (“spot, stain”).
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.