Deprave (v.) - to slander, depreciate, to distort.
Ther that meschief is gret, Mede may helpe.
And thow knowest, Conscience, I kam noght to chide,
Ne to deprave thi persone with a proud herte.
Wel thow woost, wernard, but if thow wolt gabbe,
Thow hast hanged on myn half ellevene tymes,
And also griped my gold, and gyve it where thee liked.- Langland, William: The vision of Piers Plowman (1377-1379)
The Middle-English Word of the Day is selected from Mayhew and Skeat's
"Concise Dictionary of Middle English."
As found on Greg Lindahl's website
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html
The example text was found at the Middle English Collection of the University of Virginia Library.
http://etext.virginia.edu/collections/languages/english/mideng.browse.html
