taint

noun

/teɪnt/

Etymology

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.’

derived from tinctum
derived from teint
borrowed from teint

Definitions

A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
2
A tinge, trace or touch.
- There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies, - which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world - what I want to forget.
A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character
A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character; blemish.
›+ 15 more definitionsshow fewer
1. Tincture
  Tincture; hue; colour.
2. 5
  Infection
  Infection; corruption; deprivation.
  - A prison taint was on everything there. The imprisoned air, the imprisoned light, the imprisoned damps, the imprisoned men, were all deteriorated by confinement.
  - He had inherited from his ancestors a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove.
3. 6
  A marker indicating that a variable is unsafe and should be subjected to additional…
  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 […]
4. 7
  To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or…
  To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or morally.
  - His unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love.
5. To spoil (food) by contamination.
6. 9
  To be infected or corrupted
  To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting.
  - I cannot taint with fear.
7. 10
  To be affected with incipient putrefaction.
  - Meat soon taints in warm weather.
8. To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional…
  To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional security checks.
9. To invalidate (a share capital account) by transferring profits into it.
10. 13
  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.
11. An injury done to a lance in an encounter, without its being broken
  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.
12. 15
  To damage, as a lance, without breaking it
  To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
  - Do not fear; I have / A staff to taint, and bravely.
13. To thrust ineffectually with a lance.
14. 17
  The perineum.
  - Even her taint's raw?
  - Did you know that guy has absolutely no tan lines? He'll show his taint to prove it!
15. Alternative spelling of 'taint.

The neighborhood

neighbortainture

Derived

boar taint, cork taint, taintable, tainter, taintless, taintproof, untaint, untainting

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at taint. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at taint. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at taint

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA