different between stair vs taint

English

Etymology

From Middle English steire, staire, stayre, stayer, steir, steyre, steyer, from Old English st??er (“stair, staircase”), from Proto-Germanic *staigriz (“stairs, scaffolding”), from Proto-Indo-European *steyg?- (“to walk, proceed, march, climb”). Cognate with Dutch steiger (“a stair, step, wharf, pier, scaffolding”), Middle Low German steiger, steir (“scaffolding”), German Low German Steiger (“a scaffold; trestle”). Related to Old English ?st??an (“to ascend, go up, embark”), Old English st??an (“to go, move, reach; ascend, mount, go up, spring up, rise; scale”), German Stiege (“a flight of stairs”). More at sty.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /st???/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /st??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)
• Homophone: stare

Noun

stair (plural stairs)

1. A single step in a staircase.

   Synonym: step

2. A series of steps; a staircase.

Synonyms

• (Cockney rhyming slang) apples and pears

Usage notes

• Stairs and stair are used to refer to a single staircase, mostly interchangeably in the UK.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• ladder
• landing

Anagrams

• ISTAR, Ritsa, Sarti, airts, arist, astir, sitar, stria, tarsi, tiars, tisar

Irish

Etymology

From Latin historia. Doublet of stór.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [s?t??a??]

Noun

stair f (genitive singular staire, nominative plural startha)

1. history
2. account, story
3. (literary) repute, fame

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• "stair" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Entries containing “stair” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “stair” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

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