Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Defile"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Defile \De*file"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Defiled}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Defiling}.] [F. d['e]filer; pref. d['e]-, for des- (L.
dis-) + file a row or line. See {File} a row.]
To march off in a line, file by file; to file off.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Defile \De*file"\, v. t. (Mil.)
Same as {Defilade}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Defile \De*file"\ (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. d['e]fil['e], fr.
d['e]filer to defile.]
1. Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only
in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass
between hills, rocks, etc.
2. (Mil.) The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the
exterior works in order to protect the interior. See
{Defilade}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Defile \De*file"\, v. t. [OE. defoulen, -foilen, to tread down,
OF. defouler; de- + fouler to trample (see {Full}, v. t.),
and OE. defoulen to foul (influenced in form by the older
verb defoilen). See {File} to defile, {Foul}, {Defoul}.]
1. To make foul or impure; to make filthy; to dirty; to
befoul; to pollute.
They that touch pitch will be defiled. --Shak.
2. To soil or sully; to tarnish, as reputation; to taint.
He is . . . among the greatest prelates of this age,
however his character may be defiled by . . . dirty
hands. --Swift.
3. To injure in purity of character; to corrupt.
Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt.
--Ezek. xx. 7.
4. To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate.
The husband murder'd and the wife defiled. --Prior.
5. To make ceremonially unclean; to pollute.
That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts,
he shall not eat to defile therewith. --Lev. xxii.
8.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
defile
n : a narrow pass (especially one between mountains) [syn: {gorge}]
v 1: place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's
reputation" [syn: {sully}, {corrupt}, {taint}, {cloud}]
2: make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air, of metals; also
used metaphorically: "The silver was tarnished by the long
exposure to the air"; "Her reputation was sullied after
the affair with a married man" [syn: {tarnish}, {maculate},
{sully}]
3: spot, stain, or pollute; "The townspeople defiled the river
by emptying raw sewage into it" [syn: {foul}, {befoul}, {maculate}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.