All 3 Uses of
defile
in
Song of Solomon
- 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.†
Chpt 5undefiled = unspoiled (beautiful or pure)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in undefiled means not and reverses the meaning of defiled. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?†
Chpt 5 *defile = to spoil the beauty or purity of something
- 6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.†
Chpt 6undefiled = unspoiled (beautiful or pure)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in undefiled means not and reverses the meaning of defiled. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(defile as in: it was defiled) to spoil the beauty or purity of somethingin various senses, including:
- pollute a pristine lake
- harm a reputation or good name
- damage or disrespect something sacred
- take a person's virginity in a disrespectful way
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely (but not uncommon in classic literature), defile can refer to a narrow valley or a march or passage through one.