Crossword Dictionary
stain
stain - v
color with a liquid dye or tint; "Stain this table a beautiful walnut color"; "people knew how to stain glass a beautiful blue in the middle ages"
produce or leave stains; "Red wine stains the table cloth"
color for microscopic study; "The laboratory worker dyed the specimen"
synonyms
blemish, darken, mar, poison, spoil, taint, tarnish, touch, vitiate
etymology
stain (v.)
late 14c., "damage or blemish the appearance of," probably representing a merger of Old Norse steina "to paint, color, stain," and a shortened form of Middle English disteynen "to discolor or stain," from Old French desteign-, stem of desteindre "to remove the color" (Modern French déteindre), from des- (from Latin dis- "remove;" see dis-) + Old French teindre "to dye," from Latin tingere. Meaning "to color" (fabric, wood, etc.) is from 1650s. Intransitive sense "to become stained, take stain" is from 1877