SULLYING

Verb

sullying

present participle of sully

Noun

sullying (plural sullyings)

The process by which something is sullied or made dirty.

Source: Wiktionary

SULLY

Sul"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sullied; p. pr. & vb. n. Sullying.] Etym: [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to G. suhle mire, sich, sühlen to wallow, Sw. söla to bemire, Dan. söle, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.]

Definition: To soil; to dirty; to spot; to tarnish; to stain; to darken; -- used literally and figuratively; as, to sully a sword; to sully a person's reputation. Statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke. Roscommon. No spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity. Atterbury.

Sul"ly, v. i.

Definition: To become soiled or tarnished. Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding. Bacon.

Sul"ly, n.; pl. Sullies (.

Definition: Soil; tarnish; stain. A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation. Spectator.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition