TAINT
What does "TAINT" mean?
To contaminate or corrupt something, spoiling its purity or reputation.
Meanings
- To affect with a trace of something bad or undesirable; to contaminate or corrupt. A single rumor can taint an entire career.
- A trace of corruption, infection, or dishonor. There was no taint of scandal on the family name.
Did you know?
- 'Taint' is a linguistic merger of two Latin roots - 'tingere' (to dye) and 'tangere' (to touch) - which is why a taint can be both a stain you see and a corruption you only sense.
Word origin
From Old French 'teint' meaning 'dyed, colored' (from Latin 'tingere', to dye), conflated in English with 'attaint', from Latin 'tangere', to touch.
Remember it
TAINT = T + AINT: even one drop says it 'ain't' clean anymore.
A little poem
One ink drop unfurls
in the glass of clear water-
now all of it bruised.
haiku
What it teaches
Purity is brittle: it takes a whole life to build and a single drop to question.
Quick facts
What does TAINT mean?
To contaminate or corrupt something, spoiling its purity or reputation.
Is TAINT a valid word?
Yes — TAINT is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is TAINT?
TAINT has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does TAINT come from?
From Old French 'teint' meaning 'dyed, colored' (from Latin 'tingere', to dye), conflated in English with 'attaint', from Latin 'tangere', to touch.
What can TAINT teach us?
Purity is brittle: it takes a whole life to build and a single drop to question.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.