blemished
Meaning
having a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance or completeness of something.
to have spoiled the appearance or perfection of something.
Structure
Usage
the fruit was slightly blemished but still perfectly good to eat.
his reputation was permanently blemished by the scandal.
she returned the blemished painting to the artist for restoration.
Etymology
the word 'blemish' entered english from old french blesmir, meaning to wound or make pale, which itself has germanic roots, likely related to old norse blasa, to blow, suggesting a connection to causing a pallor or discoloration. the core concept evolved from the physical act of wounding or discoloring to the more abstract idea of spoiling perfection or purity. the suffix '-ed' is a native english grammatical marker, used here to form the past participle, which functions as an adjective describing the state of having been marked or spoiled. thus, 'blemished' literally means 'having been marked or spoiled,' a meaning that retains a clear link from its original sense of physical marring to its modern use for both physical and figurative flaws.
Analysis
blemish (from old french blesmir, to make pale, wound, of germanic origin; the functional role is the core meaning of a mark or flaw). ed (from old english -ed, -od, -ad; a suffix forming past tenses and past participles of verbs, and adjectives from nouns or verbs).