stain

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.

noun

1. A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances.
2. A blemish on one's character or reputation.
3. 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. 1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, page 93
4. A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.
5. (heraldry) One of a number of non-standard tinctures used chiefly in post-medieval heraldry, especially tenné, murrey, or sanguine.

verb

1. (transitive) To discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
   to stain the hand with dye
   armour stained with blood
2. To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
3. 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
4. (intransitive) To become stained; to take a stain.
5. (transitive, cytology, histology) To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
6. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.