besmirch

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The Word of the Day for November 19 is:=20

besmirch   \bih-SMERCH\   verb
     : sully, soil=20

Example sentence:
          In order to besmirch the reputation of his opponent, Clay made=
 sure to bring up the subject of the senator=E2=80=99s tax troubles duri=
ng their first debate.

Did you know?
          Since the prefix "be-" in "besmirch" means "to make or cause t=
o be," when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What'=
s a smirch? A smirch is a stain, and "to smirch" is to stain or make dir=
ty. By extension, "to smirch" came to mean "to bring discredit or disgra=
ce on." "Smirch" and "besmirch," then, mean essentially the same thing. =
We have William Shakespeare to thank for the variation in form. Shakespe=
are's 1599 use of the term in _Henry V_ is the first known appearance of=
 "besmirch" in English.





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