different between affect vs taint

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English affecten, from Latin affect?re, from Latin affectus, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?.f?kt', IPA^(key): /??f?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Verb

affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)

1. (transitive) To influence or alter.

   Synonyms: alter, change, have an effect on, have an impact on, influence
2. (transitive) To move to emotion.

   Synonyms: move, touch

   • 1757, Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

     A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles.

3. (transitive, pathology) Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body).

   Synonyms: attack, harm, infect

4. (transitive, archaic) To dispose or incline.
5. (transitive, archaic) To tend to by affinity or disposition.

   • The drops of every fluid affect a round figure.

6. (transitive, archaic) To assign; to appoint.

   • One of the domestics was affected to his special service.

Usage notes

Affect and effect are sometimes confused. Affect conveys influence over something that already exists, but effect indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:

• "...new policies have effected major changes in government."
• "...new policies have affected major changes in government."

The former indicates that major changes were made as a result of new policies, while the latter indicates that before new policies, major changes were in place, and that the new policies had some influence over these existing changes.

The verbal noun uses of affect are distinguished from the verbal noun uses of effect more clearly than the regular verb forms. An affect is something that acts or acted upon something else. However, an effect is the result of an action (by something else).

Conjugation

Derived terms

• affectingly

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English affecten, from Anglo-Norman affecter (“strive after”), Middle French affecter (“feign”), and their source, Latin affect?re (“to strive after, aim to do, pursue, imitate with dissimulation, feign”), frequentative of afficere (“to act upon, influence”) (see Etymology 1, above).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?f?kt', IPA^(key): /??f?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Verb

affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)

1. (transitive) To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of. [from 16th c.]

   Synonyms: fake, simulate, feign
2. (obsolete, transitive) To aim for, to try to obtain. [15th-19th c.]
3. (transitive, rare) To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of. [from 16th c.]
   • c. 1589, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III, Scene 1,^[1]

     There is a Lady in Verona heere

     Whom I affect: but she is nice, and coy,

     And naught esteemes my aged eloquence.

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.10:

     From that day forth she gan to him affect, / And daily more her favour to augment […]

   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-History of Britain, London: John Williams, Book 5, p. 173,^[2]

     As for Queen Katharine, he rather respected, then affected; rather honoured, then loved her.

   • 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 1:

     But when he pleased to show 't, his speech / In loftiness of sound was rich; / A Babylonish dialect, / Which learned pedants much affect.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To show a fondness for (something); to choose. [from 16th c.]
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, III.9:

     Amongst humane conditions this one is very common, that we are rather pleased with strange things then with our owne; we love changes, affect alterations, and like innovations.

   • c. 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act I, Scene 2,^[3]

     Go, let him have a table by himself, for he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for’t, indeed.

   • 1825, William Hazlitt, “On the Conduct of life: or Advice to a schoolboy” in Table-Talk Volume II, Paris: A. & W. Galignani, p. 284,^[4]

     Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great.

Derived terms

• affected
• affectedly
• affectedness
• affectation
• affecter

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English affect, from Latin affectus, adfectus (“a state of mind or body produced by some (external) influence, especially sympathy or love”), from afficere (“to act upon, influence”)

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?'f?kt, IPA^(key): /?æ.f?kt/

Noun

affect (plural affects)

1. (obsolete) One's mood or inclination; mental state. [14th-17th c.]
2. (obsolete) A desire, an appetite. [16th-17th c.]
3. (psychology) A subjective feeling experienced in response to a thought or other stimulus; mood, emotion, especially as demonstrated in external physical signs. [from 19th c.]
   • 1999, Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford 2008, p. 62:

     if we are afraid of robbers in a dream, the robbers are certainly imaginary, but the fear is real. This draws our attention to the fact that the development of affects [transl. Affectentwicklung] in dreams is not amenable to the judgement we make of the rest of the dream-content [...].

   • 2004, Jeffrey Greenberg & Thomas A Pyszczynski, Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology, p. 407:

     A third study demonstrated that the effects of self-affirmation on self-regulated performance were not due to positive affect.

Usage notes

Affect and effect can both be used as nouns or verbs, but when used as a noun the word affect is limited to the above psychology uses and the definitions for effect are much more common. See also the usage notes as a verb above.

Derived terms

• affect display
• flat affect
• labile affect

Related terms

• affective
• affection
• affectionate

Translations

References

• affect in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “affect”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin affectus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.f?kt/

Noun

affect m (plural affects)

1. (psychology, philosophy) affect; emotion

Related terms

• affectif

See also

• intellect

Further reading

• “affect” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f?k(t)/

Etymology 1

Verb

affect (third-person singular present affects, present participle affectin, past affectit, past participle affectit)

1. to affect
2. (law) to burden property with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction

Etymology 2

Noun

affect (plural affects)

1. affect, mood

References

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /te?nt/
• Rhymes: -e?nt

Etymology 1

From Middle French teint, from Old French teint (past participle of teindre (“to dye, to tinge”)), from Latin tinctum (past participle of tingere).

Noun

taint (plural taints)

1. A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food
2. A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character; blemish
3. (obsolete) tincture; hue; colour
4. (obsolete) infection; corruption; deprivation

   • He had inherited from his ancestors a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove.

5. (programming) A marker indicating that a variable is unsafe and should be subjected to additional security checks.
   • 2006, Jim Chow, Stanford University. Computer Science Dept, Understanding data lifetime (page 33)

     Using Apache version 1.3.29 and Perl version 5.8.2, we tracked the following sequence of taints […]

Translations

Verb

taint (third-person singular simple present taints, present participle tainting, simple past and past participle tainted)

1. (transitive) To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or morally.
2. (transitive) To spoil (food) by contamination.
3. (intransitive) To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting.
4. (intransitive) To be affected with incipient putrefaction.

   Meat soon taints in warm weather.

5. (transitive, computing, programming) To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional security checks.
6. (transitive, Australia, finance) To invalidate (a share capital account) by transferring profits into it.

Translations

Related terms

• tainture

Etymology 2

From Middle English taynt, aphetic form of attaynt, atteynt, from Old French atteinte (“a blow, stroke”). Compare with attaint.

Noun

taint (plural taints)

1. A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect.
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.

Translations

Verb

taint (third-person singular simple present taints, present participle tainting, simple past and past participle tainted)

1. (transitive) To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
   • 1624, Philip Massinger, The Parliament of Love

     Do not fear; I have / A staff to taint, and bravely.

2. (intransitive) To thrust ineffectually with a lance.

Etymology 3

Reportedly from the phrase “'tain't your balls and 'tain't your ass”. Ascribed to E.E. Landy's Underground Dict. (1972) is the following explanation: ‘'taint their ass and 'taint their pussy.’

Noun

taint (plural taints)

1. (US, slang) The perineum.
   • 2000 June 17, "Marc Newman" (username), "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)

   • 2005 July 14, "Noodles Jefferson" (username), "Re: My Wife's Raw Comments", in rec.sport.pro-wrestling, Usenet:

     Even her taint's raw?

   • 2010 February 22, "Duchamanos" (username), "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!

   • 2017, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, HBO:

     Thats right, Alex Jones is trying to sell you sloppy wet rags for your tait [sic]. And-- and when you are done wiping down the area between your genitals and anus with a glorified wet nap...

     And look-- look, this tactical taint wipe has demonstrated incredible results, hasn't it, Doctor?

Translations

Etymology 4

Contraction of it ain't.

Contraction

taint

1. Alternative spelling of 'taint

References

• taint in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• taint at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Nitta, Tanit, Titan, nitta, tinta, titan