defoil

present singular third person defoils · participle present defoiling · participle past defoiled · past defoiled

1. To defile or despoil.

   As the so-called experts of life continue to defoil the natural, living world, they also defoil the minds and tongues of its human inhabitants.

   1980, Larry Tifft, Dennis Sullivan, The Struggle to Be Human: Crime, Criminology, and Anarchism, page 21

   3 more examples

   A murder'd body huge beside him stood, Of head and right hand both but lately spoiled, His left hand bore the head, whose visage good Both pale and wan with dust and gore defoiled, Yet spake, though dead, with whose sad words the blood Forth at his lips in huge abundance boiled:— Fly Argillan, from this false camp fly far, Whose guide a traitor, captains murderers are.

   1853, Torquato Tasso, Edward Fairfaix, Leigh Hunt, Godfrey of Bulloigne, Or: The Recovery of Jerusalem, page 252

   Naught, Answered his hot desires : within the air The war-horse neighed, he heard the tourney-spears Ring in attaint, with moans from one defoiled.

   1890, Frank Carr, Of Palomide: Famous Knight of King Arthur's Round Table, page 81

   Then Sir Thomas came thither with his company and mounted up into the gate, and there found the said lords with twenty-five knights with them, who yielded them to Sir Thomas; and he took them for his prisoners and left company to keep them, and then mounted again on his horse and rode into the streets, and saved many lives of ladies, damosels, and cloisterers from defoiling,— for the soldiers were without mercy.

   1895, Jean Froissart, translated by John Bourchier, edited by George Campbell Macaulay, The Chronicles of Froissart, page 97