---
title: defile — Early Modern English dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «defile» in the Early Modern English dictionary: To make something impure or dirty; as a noun, a narrow path between hills. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/D/defile/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [Early Modern English dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/) / [D](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/D/) / defile

# defile

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** thou, son, oracle, He · **What happens:** make, not lie, defile, consult, promise, go · **To what, where:** something, thyself, oracle, victory, himself, chief man

<!-- .vabout -->
«defile» in the Early Modern English dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 3 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [defile in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/emode/w/defile.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make something impure or dirty; as a noun, a narrow path between hills.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:emode:defile:m1:1
# text = To make something impure or dirty; as a noun, a narrow path between hills.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	impure	impure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	dirty	dirty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	narrow	narrow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	path	path	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	_
15	between	between	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	hills	hill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | as a noun | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset something=Product |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.

<!-- .note -->
From Torah LEV.18.20, JPS 1917.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:emode:defile:x1:1
# text = And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
2	thou	thou	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Style=Arch	5	nsubj	_	_
3	shalt	shall	AUX	MD	Style=Arch|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	lie	lie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	carnally	carnally	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
8	thy	thy	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs|Style=Arch	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	defile	defile	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
15	thyself	thyself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes|Style=Arch	14	obj	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **lie** | shall | thou |  |  |  |  | with thy neighbour's wife; carnally *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **defile** | to-infinitive | thou *not said here* | thyself |  |  |  | with wife | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Twenty years later his son Aristomachus consulted an oracle, which promised him victory if he went by way of the defile.

<!-- .note -->
From Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:emode:defile:x2:1
# text = Twenty years later his son Aristomachus consulted an oracle, which promised him victory if he went by way of the defile.
1	Twenty	twenty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
3	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	Aristomachus	Aristomachus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
7	consulted	consult	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	oracle	oracle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	promised	promise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
13	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	iobj	_	_
14	victory	victory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	advcl	_	_
18	by	by	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	defile	defile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **consult** | past | his son | a oracle |  |  |  | late *property* | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent oracle=Theme |
| 2 | **promise** *speech: promise* | past | a oracle | victory | oracle |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.goal NP»: agent=Agent he=Goal victory=Theme |
| 3 | **go** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | son |  |  |  |  | by way of the defile | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme by way=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

<!-- .note -->
From Torah LEV.21.4, JPS 1917.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:emode:defile:x3:1
# text = He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	shall	shall	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	defile	defile	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	chief	chief	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
11	among	among	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	profane	profane	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
17	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **defile** | shall | He | himself *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | gerund |  | a chief man |  |  |  | among man's people | tree rules |
| 3 | **profane** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the Early Modern English dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova; its examples quote public-domain texts. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [dass](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/D/dass/)
- next →: [defiledst](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/D/defiledst/)
- ↑ back to [D in Early Modern English dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/D/)