From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Stain \Stain\ (st[=a]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stained}
(st[=a]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Staining}.] [Abbrev. fr.
distain.]
1. To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make
foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor
stained with blood.
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2. To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by
processes affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material
itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or
penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with
acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain
glass.
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3. To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to
blot; to soil; to tarnish.
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Of honor void,
Of innocence, of faith, of purity,
Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.
--Milton.
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4. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
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She stains the ripest virgins of her age. --Beau. &
Fl.
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That did all other beasts in beauty stain.
--Spenser.
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{Stained glass}, glass colored or stained by certain metallic
pigments fused into its substance, -- often used for
making ornamental windows.
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Syn: To paint; dye; blot; soil; sully; discolor; disgrace;
taint.
Usage: {Paint}, {Stain}, {Dye}. These denote three different
processes; the first mechanical, the other two,
chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is to spread a coat
of coloring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is
to impart color to its substance. To stain is said
chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of
fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one,
commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the
other more complex, as fixing colors by mordants.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
staining
n 1: (histology) the use of a dye to color specimens for
microscopic study
2: the act of spotting or staining something [syn: {staining},
{spotting}, {maculation}]
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