English Explanatory Dictionary

befile

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To make filthy; befoul; soil.

Word forms

befile befiles befiling befiled

Etymology

From Middle English befilen, from Old English befȳlan (“to befoul, defile, make dirty”), from Proto-West Germanic *bifūlijan (“to make foul”), equivalent to be- + file. Cognate with Scots befile (“to befile”), West Frisian befûlje (“to dirty”), Dutch bevuilen (“to soil, dirty”), German Low German befulen (“to soil, pollute”). See also defile.

Synonyms

befoul defile foul assoil beclart bedaub bedirty imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth begrime beray beshit besmear besmirch besully bewray blacken blot blur clat contaminate darken dirten dirty elt file foil gunk gunk up inquinate scunge sling mud slotter slur smear smirch smudge smut smutch soil soss sowl spot stain sullow sully tarnish uggle
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