defile

verb (defile, defiles, defiled, defiling); noun (defile, defiles)

«defile» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition and Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(noun) A defile is a narrow path or valley between high rocks or hills, where only a few can pass at a time. tree →
(verb, old use) To defile something is to make it dirty or spoil it so it cannot be used. tree →

In the lessons

in old tales an army or traveller must go through a defile in the mountains; in lessons, a narrow pass; the verb is an old word for making dirty

Examples

The army marched through the defile in single file. tree →
The road ran through a narrow defile between two cliffs. tree →
Do not defile the spring with rubbish. tree →

Note

nothing for maths

In Jewish tradition

To make a person ritually impure, or to make something holy unclean through wrongdoing or contact with the dead.

Interpretation. Jewish law cares about states of purity and impurity. A priest was warned to avoid defilement by the dead except for close relatives.

Examples

And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. (Torah LEV.18.20, JPS 1917) tree →
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. (Torah LEV.21.4, JPS 1917) tree →
neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; (Torah LEV.21.11, JPS 1917) tree →
I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? (Writings SNG.5.3, JPS 1917) tree →
But thou art man, and not God, in the hand of them that defile thee. (Prophets EZK.28.9, JPS 1917) tree →
But they set their abominations in the house whereupon My name is called, to defile it. (Prophets JER.32.34, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

nothing for maths

Early Modern English

Meaning

To make something impure or dirty; as a noun, a narrow path between hills. tree →

Then and now

Today "defile" as a verb means to spoil purity, and as a noun it means a narrow valley pass. The first and third sentences use the verb as we do; the second sentence uses the noun in an old sense.

Examples

And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. (Torah LEV.18.20, JPS 1917) tree →
Twenty years later his son Aristomachus consulted an oracle, which promised him victory if he went by way of the defile. (Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome) tree →
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. (Torah LEV.21.4, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: make dirty, make unclean; narrow pass.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «defile» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«defile» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «defile» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«defile» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «defile» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«defile» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.

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