The word for today is…

besmirch (verb):
: to cause harm or damage to the purity, luster, or beauty of something

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Since the prefix be- in besmirch means “to make or cause to be,” when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What’s a smirch? A smirch is a stain, and to smirch something is to stain it or make it dirty. By extension, the verb smirch came to mean “to bring discredit or disgrace on.” Smirch and besmirch, then, mean essentially the same thing.

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...