To Stain. v.a. [ystaenio, Welsh, from ys and taenu.
Rhag Gwyar or Gnawd,
Afar ystaenawd. Taliessyn, an old British poet.]
- To blot; to spot; to maculate.
Lend me a looking-glass;
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
Why then she lives. Shakespeare's King Lear.From the gash a stream
His armour stain'd, ere while so bright. Milton.Embrace again, my sons: be foes no more,
Nor stain your country with your children's gore. Dryden. - To disgrace; to spot with guilt or infamy.
Of honour void, of innocence, of faith, of purity,
Our wonted ornaments now soil'd and stain'd. Milton.