Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
taints
plural of taint
taints
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of taint
• -statin, Nittas, Titans, nittas, sattin, statin, tanist, tintas, titans
Source: Wiktionary
Taint, n. Etym: [Cf. F. atteinte a blow, bit, stroke. See Attaint.]
1. A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect. [Obs.] This taint he followed with his sword drawn from a silver sheath. Chapman.
2. 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. [Obs.]
Taint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Tainting.]
Definition: To thrust ineffectually with a lance. [Obs.]
Taint, v. t.
1. To injure, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner. [Obs.] Do not fear; I have A staff to taint, and bravely. Massinger.
2. To hit or touch lightly, in tilting. [Obs.] They tainted each other on the helms and passed by. Ld. Berners.
Taint, v. t. Etym: [F. teint, p.p. of teindre to dye, tinge, fr. L. tingere, tinctum. See Tinge, and cf. Tint.]
1. To imbue or impregnate with something extraneous, especially with something odious, noxious, or poisonous; hence, to corrupt; to infect; to poison; as, putrid substance taint the air.
2. Fig.: To stain; to sully; to tarnish. His unkindness may defeat my life, But never taint my love. Shak.
Syn.
– To contaminate; defile; pollute; corrupt; infect; disease; vitiate; poison.
Taint, v. i.
1. To be infected or corrupted; to be touched with something corrupting. I can not taint with fear. Shak.
2. To be affected with incipient putrefaction; as, meat soon taints in warm weather.
Taint, n.
1. Tincture; hue; color; tinge. [Obs.]
2. Infection; corruption; deprivation. He had inherited from his parents a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove. Macaulay.
3. A blemish on reputation; stain; spot; disgrace.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
8 May 2025
(noun) the act of protecting something by surrounding it with material that reduces or prevents the transmission of sound or heat or electricity
Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.