Sully Definition

sŭlē

sullied, sullies, sullying

verb

sullied, sullies, sullying

To become sullied.

Webster's New World

To soil, stain, tarnish, or besmirch, now esp. by disgracing.

Webster's New World

To defile; taint.

Sully a reputation.

American Heritage

He did not wish to sully his reputation with an ill-mannered comment.

Wiktionary

(intransitive) To become soiled or tarnished.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

noun

A stain or tarnish; defilement.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Origin of Sully

From Middle English sulien (also sulwen), from Old English sylian (“to sully, soil, pollute"), from Proto-Germanic *suliwōnÄ…, *sulwōnÄ…, *sulwijanÄ… (“to sully, make dirty"), from Proto-Indo-European *sÅ«l- (“thick liquid, muck"). Cognate with Old Saxon sulian (“to sully"), Middle Dutch soluwen (“to sully"), German sühlen (“to sully"), Danish søle (“to sully"), Swedish söla (“to sully"). Perhaps conflated partially with Old French souillier ("to soil";> French souiller), from the same Germanic source. Related also to Old English solian (“to soil, become defiled, make or become foul"). More at soil.

From Wiktionary
Probably from French souiller from Old French soil²

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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