Both Uses of
taint
in
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
- She stood taking deep breaths of the salt, fish-tainted air, and looked about for someone to share her excitement.†
p. 5.8 *tainted = spoiled or contaminated
- The magistrate accepted the copybook reluctantly, as though it were tainted.†
p. 214.3
Definitions:
-
(1)
(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
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, taint is used in a non-negative way to refer to a trace of something.