stain
English
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 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 wem (“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.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /steɪn/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪn
Noun
stain (plural stains)
- A discoloured spot or area.
- A blemish on one's character or reputation.
- A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it.
- 1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 93:
- The wood will darken whether it is stained or not—the main function of a stain is to enhance the wood's natural color and emphasize its grain.
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- A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.
- (heraldry) Any of a number of non-standard tinctures used in modern heraldry.
Derived terms
- bloodstain
- Giemsa stain
- Leishman stain
- pet stain
- Romanowsky stain
- Wright-Giemse stain
- Wright's stain
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Verb
stain (third-person singular simple present stains, present participle staining, simple past and past participle stained)
- (transitive) To discolour.
- to stain the hand with dye
- armour stained with blood
- To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- of Honour void,
Of Innocence, of Faith, of Puritie,
Our wonted Ornaments now soild and staind
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- 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
- (intransitive) To become stained; to take a stain.
- (transitive, cytology, histology) To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
- To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
- c. 1607–1611, Francis Beaumont; John Fletcher, “Cupid’s Revenge”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, OCLC 3083972, Act II, scene ii:
- She stains the ripest virgins of her age.
- 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], Daphnaïda. An Elegy upon the Death of the Noble and Vertuous Douglas Howard, […], London: […] [Thomas Orwin] for William Ponsonby, […], OCLC 1313294130:
- that did all other beasts in beauty stain
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Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Anagrams
- Astin, Insta, Saint, Santi, Sinta, Tanis, Tians, antis, insta-, saint, sat in, satin, stian, tians, tisan
Gothic
Romanization
stain
- Romanization of 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽
Gutnish
Etymology
From Old Norse steinn (“stone”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ (stainaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”). Cognate with English stone, German Stein, Dutch steen, Danish sten, Norwegian Bokmål sten, Norwegian Nynorsk stein, Swedish sten, Faroese steinur, West Frisian stien, Low German Steen. Ultimately from Pre-Germanic *stoyh₂nos, o-grade from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).
Noun
stain m
- stone, rock, as material or individual piece of rock or pebble
Middle English
Adjective
stain
- Alternative form of stonen
Westrobothnian
Etymology
From Old Norse steinn (“stone”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ (stainaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”). Cognate with English stone, German Stein, Dutch steen, Danish sten, Norwegian Bokmål sten, Norwegian Nynorsk stein, Swedish sten, Faroese steinur, West Frisian stien, Low German Steen. Ultimately from Pre-Germanic *stoyh₂nos, o-grade from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).
Noun
stain m
- stone, rock, as material or individual piece of rock or pebble
Alternative forms
- stäin
- stejn