/steɪn/
OriginFrom 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.
- A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances.
- A blemish on one's character or reputation.
- A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it.
“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.”
- A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.
- One of a number of non-standard tinctures used chiefly in post-medieval heraldry, especially tenné, murrey, or sanguine.
- transitiveTo discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
“to stain the hand with dye”
“armour stained with blood”
- To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
“of Honour void,
Of Innocence, of Faith, of Puritie,
Our wonted Ornaments now soild and staind”
- 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”
- intransitiveTo become stained; to take a stain.
- transitiveTo treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
- To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
“She stains the ripest virgins of her age.”
“that did all other beasts in beauty stain”
Formsstains(plural) · stains(present, singular, third-person) · staining(participle, present) · stained(participle, past) · stained(past)