defile

[dih-fahyl]

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verb (used with object), de·filed, de·fil·ing.

to make foul, dirty, or unclean; pollute; taint; debase.

to violate the chastity of.

to make impure for ceremonial use; desecrate.

to sully, as a person's reputation.

Origin of defile

1275–1325; Middle English defilen, defelen, alteration of defoilen (by association with filen to file³) < Anglo-French, Old French defouler to trample on, violate; compare Old English befȳlan to befoul

Related formsde·fil·a·ble, adjectivede·file·ment, nounde·fil·er, nounde·fil·ing·ly, adverbnon·de·file·ment, noun

defile

[dih-fahyl, dee-fahyl]

noun

any narrow passage, especially between mountains.

verb (used without object), de·filed, de·fil·ing.

to march in a line or by files.

Origin of defile

1675–85; < French défilé, noun use of past participle of défiler to file off; see defilade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for defile

sully, debase, degrade, dishonor, discolor, desecrate, vitiate, besmirch, disgrace, soil, shame, molest, rape, pollute, seduce, tarnish, contaminate, stain, trash, deflower

Examples from the Web for defile

Contemporary Examples of defile

Smoking, the statement suggests, will direct their actions, defile their bodies and “cost them” a great deal.
France's Anti-Smoking Faux Pas
Eric Pape
February 24, 2010

Historical Examples of defile

They thought of the Earth as their mother and would not put anything into it to defile it.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
The Amandara defile was occupied on both sides by the enemy.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
An Ohio regiment, which can also deal with Slade if it catches him, will defile to the left.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
From north to south there is just one highway, so narrow that it is really a defile.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
At last it throws its coldling, shining ray on a defile and rests there.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for defile

defile

verb (tr)

to make foul or dirty; pollute

to tarnish or sully the brightness of; taint; corrupt

to damage or sully (someone's good name, reputation, etc)

to make unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate

to violate the chastity of

Derived Formsdefilement, noundefiler, noun

Word Origin for defile

C14: from earlier defoilen (influenced by filen to file ³), from Old French defouler to trample underfoot, abuse, from de- + fouler to tread upon; see full ²

defile

noun

a narrow pass or gorge, esp one between two mountains

a single file of soldiers, etc

verb

mainly military to march or cause to march in single file

Word Origin for defile

C17: from French défilé, from défiler to file off, from filer to march in a column, from Old French: to spin, from fil thread, from Latin fīlum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for defile

c.1400, "to desecrate, profane;" mid-15c., "to make foul or dirty," alteration of earlier defoulen, from Old French defouler "trample down, violate," also "ill-treat, dishonor," from de- "down" (see de-) + foler "to tread," from Latin fullo "person who cleans and thickens cloth by stamping on it" (see foil (v.)).

The alteration (or re-formation) in English is from influence of Middle English filen (v.) "to render foul; make unclean or impure," literal and figurative, from Old English fylen (trans.), related to Old English fulian (intrans.) "to become foul, rot," from the source of foul (adj.). Cf. befoul, which also had a parallel form befilen. Related: Defiled; defiling.

"narrow passage," 1640s, especially in a military sense, "a narrow passage down which troops can march only in single file," from French défilé, noun use of past participle of défiler "march by files" (17c.), from de- "off" (see de-) + file "row," from Latin filum "thread" (see file (v.)). The verb in this sense is 1705, from French défiler.