Etymology

taint

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Today it means: A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food. Full definition →

Middle French teint ← Old French teint ← Latin tinctum
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taint · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromtinctum
  2. Old French · derived fromteint
  3. Middle French · borrowed fromteint
  4. English todaytaint

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

taint · noun, verb2

  1. Old French · derived fromatteinte“a blow, stroke”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromtaynt
  3. English todaytaint

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

taint · noun3

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.’

taint · contraction4

Contraction of it + ain't.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.