A tithe purloined cankers the whole estate.
Herbert.
Can"ker, v. i. 1. To waste away, grow rusty, or be oxidized, as a mineral. [Obs.]
Silvering will sully and canker more than gliding.
Bacom.
2. To be or become diseased, or as if diseased, with canker; to grow corrupt; to become venomous.
Deceit and cankered malice.
Dryden.
As with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers.
Shak.