Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré. d'Émile Littré. 1872-1877.
Defoul — De*foul , v. t. [See {Defile}, v. t.] 1. To tread down. [Obs.] Wyclif. [1913 Webster] 2. To make foul; to defile. [Obs.] Wyclif. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
defoul — /di fowlˈ/ (obsolete) transitive verb To make foul, defile ORIGIN: OE fūl foul, with de from confusion with OFr defouler to trample; cf ↑defile2 … Useful english dictionary
defoul — v. a. RG. 536 … Oldest English Words
defile — ‘make dirty’ [14] and defile ‘narrow pass’ [17] are distinct words in English. The former has a rather complex history. It was originally acquired in the 13th century as defoul, borrowed from Old French defouler ‘trample down, injure’; this was a … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
defile — ‘make dirty’ [14] and defile ‘narrow pass’ [17] are distinct words in English. The former has a rather complex history. It was originally acquired in the 13th century as defoul, borrowed from Old French defouler ‘trample down, injure’; this was a … Word origins
Defile — De*file (d[ e]*f[imac]l ), 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 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
defile — de|file1 [dıˈfaıl] v [T] formal [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: defoul to crush with the feet, make dirty (13 17 centuries), from Old French defouler, from fouler to step on ] to make something less pure and good, especially by showing no respect ▪… … Dictionary of contemporary English
defile — defile1 [dɪ fʌɪl] verb sully, mar, or spoil. ↘desecrate or profane (something sacred). ↘archaic rape or sexually assault (a woman). Derivatives defilement noun defiler noun Origin ME: alt. of obs. defoul, from OFr. defouler trample down ,… … English new terms dictionary
defile — Ⅰ. defile [1] ► VERB 1) make dirty; spoil or pollute. 2) desecrate. DERIVATIVES defilement noun defiler noun. ORIGIN alteration of obsolete defoul, from Old French defouler trample down … English terms dictionary
defilement — Ⅰ. defile [1] ► VERB 1) make dirty; spoil or pollute. 2) desecrate. DERIVATIVES defilement noun defiler noun. ORIGIN alteration of obsolete defoul, from Old French defouler trample down … English terms dictionary
