■ noun a trace of a bad or undesirable quality or substance.
↘a contaminating influence or effect.
■ verb
1》 contaminate or pollute.
↘affect with a bad or undesirable quality.
2》 archaic (of food or water) become contaminated or polluted.
Derivatives
~less adjective ( literary ).
Origin
ME (as a verb in the sense 'convict, prove guilty'): partly from OFr. teint 'tinged', based on L. tingere 'to dye, tinge'; partly a shortening of at~ .