Sully, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sullied; p. pr. & vb. n. Sullying.] — Webster enters it under “sully”
Etymology: [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to G. suhle mire, sich, sühlen to wallow, Sw. söla to bemire, Dan. söle, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.]
To soil; to dirty; to spot; to tarnish; to stain; to darken; -- used literally and figuratively; as, to sully a sword; to sully a person's reputation. Statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke. Roscommon. No spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity. Atterbury.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Sully, v. i.
To become soiled or tarnished. Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding. Bacon.
Sully, n.; pl. Sullies (.
Soil; tarnish; stain. A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation. Spectator.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists sullied only as an antonym, under pure.
Where he writes about it:
Bright metal is tarnished by exposure; a fair sheet is sullied by a dirty hand. — from defile