Taint vs Spoil - What's the difference?
taint | spoil |
A (l), (l) or (l), especially in (l)
A mark of (l), especially on one's (l); blemish
(obsolete) tincture; hue; colour
(obsolete) infection; corruption; deprivation
To (l) or (l) (something) with an external (l), either (l) or (l).
* Shakespeare
To (l) (food) by (l).
To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting.
* Shakespeare
To be affected with incipient putrefaction.
A (l) with a (l), which fails of its intended (l).
An (l) done to a (l) in an encounter, without its being broken; also, a breaking of a lance in an encounter in a (l) or unscientific manner.
To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
* Massinger
To hit or touch lightly, in tilting.
* Ld. Berners
To thrust ineffectually with a lance.
(slang) The (l).
* 2000 June 17, "Marc Newman" (username), "
* 2005 July 14, "Noodles Jefferson" (username), "
* 2010 February 22, "Duchamanos" (username), "
(archaic) To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour.
(archaic) To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil.
* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. (Bible) , (w) IX:
* 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , VII:
*, I.2.4.vii:
(ambitransitive, archaic) To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).
* (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
(obsolete) To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.
* (Bible), (w) iii. 27
To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use.
* (Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)
*
* 2011 , ‘What the Arab papers say’, The Economist , 5 Aug 2011:
To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.
Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.
To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it.
* 2003 , David Nicoll, The Guardian , letter:
To reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.
(Also in plural: spoils ) Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.
(uncountable) Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging]]. [[tailings, Tailings.
In transitive terms the difference between taint and spoil
is that taint is to hit or touch lightly, in tilting while spoil is to reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.In intransitive terms the difference between taint and spoil
is that taint is to thrust ineffectually with a lance while spoil is of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.taint
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) tingere, tinctum via (etyl) teint (past participle of )Noun
(en noun)- He had inherited from his parents a scrofulous taint , which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove. — Macaulay.
Verb
(en verb)- His unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love.
- I cannot taint with fear.
- Meat soon taints in warm weather.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) . Compare with attaint.Noun
(en noun)Verb
(en verb)- Do not fear; I have / A staff to taint , and bravely.
- They tainted each other on the helms and passed by.
Etymology 3
Reportedly from the phrase “ your balls and 'tain't your ass”.Noun
(en noun)Re: Americas are overated", in talk.politics.guns, Usenet :
- 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 )
Re: My Wife's Raw Comments", in rec.sport.pro-wrestling, Usenet :
- Even her taint
's raw?
Re: Huck Finn 2010-anyone going?", in rec.sport.disc, Usenet :
- Did you know that guy has absolutely no tan lines? He'll show his taint to prove it!
Anagrams
* (l), (l), (l)spoil
English
Verb
- All that herde hym wer amased and sayde: ys nott this he that spoylled them whych called on this name in Jerusalem?
- To do her dye (quoth Vna) were despight, / And shame t'auenge so weake an enimy; / But spoile her of her scarlot robe, and let her fly.
- Roger, that rich Bishop of Salisbury,through grief ran mad, spoke and did he knew not what.
- Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil .
- No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man.
- Spiritual pride spoils many graces.
- "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. […]"
- ‘This is a great day for us. Let us not spoil it by saying the wrong thing, by promoting a culture of revenge, or by failing to treat the former president with respect.’
- Make sure you put the milk back in the fridge, otherwise it will spoil .
- Dr Jonathan Grant (Letters, April 22) feels the best way to show his disaffection with political parties over Iraq is to spoil his ballot paper.