STAIN


Meaning of STAIN in English

■ verb

1》 mark or discolour with something that is not easily removed.

2》 damage (someone's or something's reputation).

3》 colour with a penetrative dye or chemical.

■ noun

1》 a stubborn discoloured patch or dirty mark.

2》 a thing that damages a reputation.

3》 a dye or chemical used to colour materials.

↘ Biology a dye used to colour organic tissue so as to make the structure visible for microscopic examination.

4》 Heraldry any of the minor colours used in blazoning and liveries.

Derivatives

~able adjective

~er noun

Origin

ME: shortening of archaic di~ , from OFr. desteindre 'tinge with a different colour'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.