From Old French 'desteindre' (to remove color), from Latin 'tingere' (to dye) — ironically reversed from bleaching to marking.
A mark or discoloration that is difficult to remove.
Shortened from 'distain,' from Old French 'desteindre' (to remove color), from Latin 'dis-' + 'tingere' (to color, dye). Ironically, 'stain' (a mark) comes from a word meaning 'to remove color.' Key roots: tingere (Latin: "to dye, wet, color").
'Stain' comes from a word meaning to REMOVE color — Old French 'desteindre' (to bleach). The meaning reversed completely in English.