befile

English

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.

Verb

befile (third-person singular simple present befiles, present participle befiling, simple past and past participle befiled)

  1. (transitive, dialectal or obsolete) To make filthy; befoul; soil.
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *puH- (0 c, 18 e)

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