Aspersion
/əˈspɜːr.ʒən/noun
A damaging or defamatory remark; also, the act of sprinkling water or a liquid.
Did you know?In Christian liturgy, aspersion is the sprinkling of holy water, but the figurative sense of “casting aspersions” comes from the older idea of scattering something over someone or something.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spei-
“to sprinkle, scatter”
Latin
Latin
aspergere
“to sprinkle upon, scatter over”
Late Latin
Latin
aspersio
“a sprinkling”
Old French
Old French
aspersion
“sprinkling, especially with holy water”
14th Century
Middle English
aspersion
“the act of sprinkling; later, figuratively, a slanderous imputation”
Modern English
English
aspersion
“a damaging or defamatory remark; also, a sprinkling”
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