Stainy

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing something marked or covered with spots or discolorations that alter its original appearance ; characterized by having blemishes or patches that affect cleanliness or purity ; exhibiting areas that are tinged or smudged typically from contact with a substance causing a lasting mark
2. Having a surface that shows visible spots or patches of discoloration ; relating to the presence of marks that degrade or change the natural color or texture ; indicative of contamination or staining that results in an unclean or blotchy look
3. Pertaining to materials or objects that bear visible marks from substances causing color change ; denoting the condition of being defaced by persistent marks ; referring to the quality of showing evidence of dirt or stains that are difficult to remove

Etymology: "Stainy" is formed from the noun "stain" plus the suffix "-y," which English has long used to turn a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "characterized by" the noun, as in "rainy," "bloody," or "dusty." The noun "stain" itself comes from Middle English "steynen," a shortened form of "distain," which meant to discolour or tarnish. "Distain" in turn came from Old French "desteindre," from Latin "dis-" plus "tingere," "to dye," so a stain was originally a loss of colour, the undoing of a dye. The adjective "stainy" is a straightforward derivation with no separate history of its own. It is far less common than "stained" as a past participle, and dictionaries record it as a rare, mostly informal formation, so its exact first date in English is uncertain.

Synonyms: stained, blemished, spotted, marked, discolored

Antonyms: clean, spotless, pure, pristine, unblemished