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untarnished

 - 2 dictionary results

tar⋅nish

  [tahr-nish]
Use untarnished in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to dull the luster of (a metallic surface), esp. by oxidation; discolor.
2. to diminish or destroy the purity of; stain; sully: The scandal tarnished his reputation.
–verb (used without object)
3. to grow dull or discolored; lose luster.
4. to become sullied.
–noun
5. a tarnished coating.
6. tarnished condition; discoloration; alteration of the luster of a metal.
7. a stain or blemish.
Origin:
1590–1600; < MF terniss-, long s. of ternir to dull, deaden, deriv. of terne dull, wan < Gmc; cf. OHG tarni, c. OS derni, OE dierne hidden, obscure; see -ish 2

Related forms:
tar⋅nish⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
2. taint, blemish, soil.

Antonyms:
1. brighten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

tarnish  (v.)
1598, from prp. stem of M.Fr. ternir "dull the luster or brightness of, make dim" (15c.), probably from O.Fr. adj. terne "dull, dark," from a Frank. source cognate with O.H.G. tarnjan "to conceal, hide," O.E. dyrnan "to hide, darken," from P.Gmc. *darnijaz, related to dark. Figurative sense is from 1697. The noun is recorded from 1713.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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