Besmirch - Curses, Soiled Again!

I did it to her again. Finding our cat Ripley curled into a circle of dozing kitty fluffiness on the comforter, I couldn't resist pressing my cheek against her fur while rubbing her fuzzy head. Which she tolerated for about 1 minute before hopping up and stalking to the far corner of the bed where, after casting a baleful glance in my direction, she commenced meticulously washing. Look at that, I said to Mark; her body language almost shrieked, "you have besmirched my lovely coat!"

The prim sound of besmirch aptly fit Ripley's huffy attitude. Sully, however, would have been an equally good choice. Besmirch literally means to soil or discolor as with dirt or soot, as in to drag one's dirty feet or fingers over a surface, leaving behind tracks and smudges of filth. Although the OED is vague on the etymology of besmirch, the word could be a derivation of besmear given that the tome offers besmire as an obsolete form. The ultimate root of besmear is the Old English term smeoru or smeru for ointment or grease. That's definitely smeary stuff!

But the more frequent use of besmirch is metaphorical, as in to dim something's luster, to damage or dishonor someone's reputation. "The candidate's attack ads aimed to besmirch his opponent's stance as a fiscal conservative."

Certainly, my petting in no way tarnished the luster of Ripley's fur or her reputation as a gorgeous feline. Though in her mind, I'd clearly defiled her pelt.

Sully, likewise, means to blemish something's cleanliness or luster, to taint or contaminate. And it also can be used to indicate the marring of the purity of something, such as a reputation. "Her drunken bouts sullied her good name in the community." Sully derives from a French term souiller meaning simply, to soil.

So, there you go: Two fun terms for times when soil or tarnish simply aren't sufficient.