taint

Etymology 1

From Middle French teint, from Old French teint (past participle of teindre (“to dye, to tinge”)), from Latin tinctum (past participle of tingere); compare tint.

noun

1. A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
2. A tinge, trace or touch.
3. A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character; blemish.
4. (obsolete) Tincture; hue; colour.
5. (obsolete) Infection; corruption; deprivation.
   He had inherited from his ancestors a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove.
6. (programming) A marker indicating that a variable is unsafe and should be subjected to additional security checks.
   Using Apache version 1.3.29 and Perl version 5.8.2, we tracked the following sequence of taints […] 2006, Jim Chow, Stanford University. Computer Science Dept, Understanding data lifetime (page 33)

verb

1. (transitive) To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or morally.
2. (transitive) To spoil (food) by contamination.
3. (intransitive) To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting.
4. (intransitive) To be affected with incipient putrefaction.
   Meat soon taints in warm weather.
5. (transitive, computing, programming) To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional security checks.
6. (transitive, Australia, finance) To invalidate (a share capital account) by transferring profits into it.

Etymology 2

From Middle English taynt, aphetic form of attaynt, atteynt, from Old French atteinte (“a blow, stroke”). Compare with attaint.

noun

1. A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect.
   This taint he follow'd with his sword, drawn from a silver sheath, Which lifting high, he struck his helm full where his plume did stand, On which it piecemeal brake, and fell from his unhappy hand. 1857, Homerus, translated by George Chapman, The Iliads: Never Before in Any Language Truly Translated, page 74
2. An injury done to a lance in an encounter, without its being broken; also, a breaking of a lance in an encounter in a dishonorable or unscientific manner.

verb

1. (transitive) To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
2. (intransitive) To thrust ineffectually with a lance.

Etymology 3

Reportedly from the phrase “'tain't your balls and 'tain't your ass”. Ascribed to E.E. Landy's Underground Dict. (1972) is the following explanation: ‘'taint their ass and 'taint their pussy.’

noun

1. (US, slang) The perineum.
   Sorry you feel that way. But since your mother sucks cocks in hell if I go there I won't be rotting.....I'll be on line right behind you hoping to get another good head job from your Mom or Sister....if you can remember which is which.......(Moms the one with the beard on her taint) June 17 2000, Marc Newman, “Re: Americas are overated”, in talk.politics.guns (Usenet)
   {{quote-newsgroup|en|date=July 14 2005|author=Noodles Jefferson|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.pro-wrestling/msg/abdf0a1f3df41197?q=taint|title=Re: My Wife's Raw Comments|newsgroup=rec.sport.pro-wrestling
2. February 22 2010, Duchamanos, “Re: Huck Finn 2010-anyone going?”, in rec.sport.disc (Usenet):
3. 2017, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, HBO: