Spoil

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: spoil, IPA: /spɔɪl/, SAMPA: /spOIl/

• Audio (US)

  noicon

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪl

Etymology

From Old French espoillier, from Latin spoliāre, present active infinitive of spoliō (“pillage, ruin, spoil”).

Verb

Spoil (third-person singular simple present spoils, present participle spoiling, simple past and past participle spoiled or spoilt)

1. (transitive, archaic) To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions, armour etc.; to despoil.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VII:

     To do her dye (quoth Vna) were despight, / And shame t'auenge so weake an enimy; / But spoile her of her scarlot robe, and let her fly.

   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.2.4.vii:

     Roger, that rich Bishop of Salisbury, [...] spoiled of his goods by King Stephen, [...] through grief ran mad, spoke and did he knew not what.

2. (transitive, archaic) To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).
3. (transitive, obsolete) To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.
4. (transitive) To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use.
5. (transitive) To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.
6. (intransitive) Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.
7. (transitive) To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it.

Synonyms

• (ruin): damage, destroy, ruin
• (coddle): coddle, indulge, mollycoddle

Translations

ruin

Dutch: verbrodden, verprutsen Finnish: pilata (fi) French: gâter (fr) German: ruinieren (de), verderben (de) Hungarian: rongál (hu), tönkretesz (hu) Irish: mill (ga) Italian: rovinare (it)

Japanese: 台無しにする (ja) (dainashi ni suru), 悪くなる (ja) (warukunaru) Romanian: strica (ro), ruina (ro) Russian: портить (ru) (pórtit’), испортить (ru) (ispórtit’) Sicilian: sbinnari Spanish: dañar (es), arruinar (es) Swedish: fördärva (sv)

to coddle or pamper

Czech: rozmazlit (cs) Dutch: verwennen, bederven (maybe only in Flanders) Finnish: pilata (fi) French: gâter (fr) German: verwöhnen Hungarian: elkényeztet (hu) Irish: mill (ga)

Italian: viziare (it) Japanese: 甘やかす (ja) (amayakasu) Romanian: răsfăţa (ro) Russian: баловать (ru) (balovát’, bálovat’), избаловать (ru) (izbalovát’, izbálovat’) Spanish: malcriar (es), consentir (es), (Mexico) chiquear (es) Swedish: skämma bort

become sour

Czech: zkazit se Dutch: bederven (nl) Finnish: pilaantua (fi) French: gâter (fr), tourner (fr) German: verderben (de) Haitian Creole: gate Hebrew: התקלקל (he)

Hungarian: megsavanyodik (hu), megromlik (hu) Italian: andare a male m. Japanese: 腐る (ja) (kusaru) Russian: прокиснуть (ru) (of liquid foods), скиснуть (ru) (liquids), испортиться (ru) (solids) Sicilian: peddiri, passari Spanish: agriar (es), descomponerse (es), echarse a perder (es)

Noun

Spoil (plural Spoils)

1. (Also in plural: spoils) Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.
2. (uncountable) Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging. Tailings.

Derived terms

• spoiler

Translations

plunder taken from an enemy or victim

Czech: lup (cs) m., kořist (cs) f. Dutch: buit (nl) f. Finnish: saalis, sotasaalis German: Beute (de) f. Hebrew: שלל (he) m. Hungarian: zsákmány (hu)

Italian: bottino (it) m. Japanese: (by a rioter or soldier) 略奪品 (ja) (ryakudatsu-hin); (by a governmental officer) 利権 (ja) (riken) Romanian: pradă (ro) Russian: трофей (ru) m. Spanish: botín (es) m.

material moved

Japanese: 廃棄物 (ja) (haiki-butsu)

The translations below need to be checked.

• Indonesian: mengotori, menodai

See also

• spoilage
• spoils of war
• spoilsport
• spoilt
• too many cooks spoil the broth

Anagrams

• polis