把東西弄髒
這一支就是核心畫面本身，沒有比喻：真的髒，真的看得見。
verb · C2
To make something physically dirty, especially something that is meant to stay clean.
弄髒
這個拼法底下其實是2個不同的字，意思沒有關係， 只是長得一樣。下面分開列出來。跳到 弄髒 · 隘口；狹道
1
defile
verb唸法不同同樣的拼法，這個字的唸法跟另一個不一樣。/dɪˈfaɪl/
核心畫面
One picture can carry this verb: a clean surface with dirt trodden into it. Not dust that settles by accident, but dirt that someone walks in. From that one image the word reaches in two directions. Keep it literal and you get soot on a white wall or oil in a stream. Let the dirt stand for disrespect and you get the use that matters most today: a grave, a temple, a flag, a good name treated as though it were nothing. The thing can usually be washed. What cannot be washed back is the sense that it was untouched.
這個動詞可以想成一個畫面：本來乾淨的東西，被人踩進了髒。不是灰塵自己落下來，是有人踩上去的。從這個畫面往兩邊走，就得…更多收起
這個動詞可以想成一個畫面：本來乾淨的東西，被人踩進了髒。不是灰塵自己落下來，是有人踩上去的。從這個畫面往兩邊走，就得到它的兩層意思。停在字面，就是煙把白牆燻黑、油汙流進溪裡。讓「髒」代表「不敬」，就得到今天最常用的那一層：墳墓、廟宇、國旗、一個人的名聲，被當成不值一顧的東西對待。東西通常洗得乾淨，洗不回來的是那份「沒被碰過」的感覺。From the word’s history
Wiktionary's first etymology traces this verb to Middle English defoulen, itself a blend of foulen (to make dirty, from foul) and Old French defoler (to trample, to crush). Both halves are still visible in how the word is used: something is made dirty, and it is made dirty by being walked on.
Wiktionary 的第一組字源把這個動詞追到中古英文 defoulen，它混合了 foulen（弄髒，來自 foul）和古法文 defoler（踐踏、輾壓）。兩邊今天都還看得見：東西被弄髒，而且是被踩髒的。
Wiktionary, 'defile' etymology 1, as supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:858964983)
Two branches
糟蹋乾淨或神聖的東西
把「踩髒」裡的髒，換成「不敬」，畫面就從地板搬到了人心裡看重的東西上。
verb · C2
To spoil something that people treat as pure, clean, or holy, by doing something to it that shows no respect at all.
玷污；褻瀆
A second word, same spelling
2
defile
noun唸法不同同樣的拼法，這個字的唸法跟另一個不一樣。/dɪˈfaɪl, ˈdiːfaɪl/
核心畫面
This noun is a different word that happens to be spelled the same. The picture is a slot in the land: rock walls close on both sides, sky reduced to a thin line, so little room that a group of people has to string out one behind the other. Everything the word carries is in that squeeze — you cannot spread out, you cannot turn round easily, and whatever is waiting at the far end, you meet it a few at a time.
這個名詞跟「玷污」的 defile 只是拼法一樣，其實是另一個字。畫面可以想成地形上的一道縫：兩邊岩壁逼近，天空被夾…更多收起
這個名詞跟「玷污」的 defile 只是拼法一樣，其實是另一個字。畫面可以想成地形上的一道縫：兩邊岩壁逼近，天空被夾成一條細線，窄到一群人只能一個接一個排成長長一列。這個字的意思全在那份擠迫裡——散不開、不好回頭，前面有什麼，也只能一次幾個人去面對。From the word’s history
Wiktionary's second etymology takes this word from French défiler, to march in single file, built on file, a line of things one behind another. A defile was named for what it forces you to do in it.
Wiktionary 的第二組字源把這個字追到法文 défiler（列隊行進），而它是從 file（一個接一個排成的線）來的。這個地方的名字，就是從它逼你怎麼走來的。
Wiktionary, 'defile' etymology 2, as supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:859024552)