Question

So far have I been from any care to grace my pages with modern decorations, that I have studiously endeavoured to collect examples and authorities from the writers before the restoration, whose works I regard as the wells of English undefiled, as the pure sources of genuine diction.
–Preface to A Dictionary of the English
Language,
Samuel Johnson
Which word in the passage can help you determine the meaning of the word undefiled?

Based on context clues, what is the meaning of the word undefiled as it is used in the passage?

Answer 1

The clue word is "pure" (in the phrase "the pure sources of genuine diction"). Undefiled here means uncorrupted or unspoiled — pure, uncontaminated, not tainted by later changes.