Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DE-FILE', v.t. [Sax. afylan, befylan, gefylan, afulan, from ful, fula, foul. See Foul. The Syr. ܛܦܠ tefal, is almost precisely the English word. Cast. 1553.]

1. To make unclean; to render foul or dirty; in a general sense.
2. To make impure; to render turbid; as, the water or liquor is defiled.
3. To soil or sully; to tarnish; as, reputation, &c. He is among the greatest prelates of the age, however his character may be defiled by dirty hands. – Swift. They shall defile thy brightness. – Ezek. xxviii.
4. To pollute; to make ceremonially unclean. That which dieth of itself, he shall not eat, to defile himself therewith. – Lev. xxii.
5. To corrupt chastity; to debauch; to violate; to tarnish the purity of character by lewdness. Shechem defiled Dinah. – Gen. xxxiv.
6. To taint, in a moral sense; to corrupt; to vitiate; to render impure with sin. Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt. – Ezek. xx. He hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. – Num. xix.