Both Uses of
taint
in
The Merchant of Venice
- In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt But, being season'd with a gracious voice, Obscures the show of evil?†
Scene 3.2 *
- I am a tainted wether of the flock, Meetest for death; the weakest kind of fruit Drops earliest to the ground, and so let me.†
Scene 4.1
Definition:
-
(taint) to spoil something so it is not desirable -- as when bacteria contaminates a food; or as when a rumor makes people distrust a person