sprinkle
Verb
Indicative past, past participle: sprinkled. Present participle: sprinkling
Pronunciation and accent:
Etymology: from Middle English sprenkelen. Its literal value is “to make to spring”, it being the causal of “spring”, in accordance with Walter Skeat.
Vocables derived from sprinkle: sprinkleproof (adj.), sprinkle (noun), sprinkled, sprinkler, sprinklered, sprinkling (adj., noun), sprinklingly, besprinkle, besprinkled, besprinkler, besprinkling, springle, unsprinkled, oversprinkle, intersprinkle, intersprinkled
Transitive uses:
1. To scatter, throw or dispel (something granulated, particulate or liquid, as water, seed, dust, etc.) in drops or particles; to apply (it) so that the particles are spread about over the surface of something else; to make fall or collide lightly in particles.
Synonyms: screw, spray, splash, spatter, asperse, sparge.
Equivalents: rociar, asperger, in Spanish; spruzzare, in Italian; asperger, in French.
[…] she bade Michael bring water from the rivulet, that flowed along the road; and, having received some in the man's hat, with trembling hands she sprinkled it over her father's face. Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho)
You can tell them to sprinkle a little vinegar about the place where he sleeps and to keep it moderately cool and him moderately warm. Charles Dickens (Bleak House)
I sprinkled water on her face. Charles Dickens (David Copperfield)
She places lit candles in glasses, so they won't blowout, in all the specified places, sprinkles the spices, and recites almost two pages of very sloppy Latin. She stares at the circle and waits. The candles burn down. Jack R. Dunn (Hard)
She carefully washed my prick and bum hole again, and sprinkled eau-de-Cologne on me. Walter (My Secret Life)
[…] her present was only a little pinchbeck box pierced with holes; an old sand caster, an eighteenth-century relic, once used to sprinkle sand over wet ink. Virginia Wolf (Short Stories)
She took his hand and sprinkled on it earth and gravel, and commenced scanning it curiously. George Meredith (The Shaving of Shagpat)
[…] he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over thee.' George Meredith (The Shaving of Shagpat)
[They] sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven. James Anthony Froude (Short Studies on Great Subjects)
Captain Cuttle snatched from his breakfast-table a basin of cold water, and sprinkled some upon her face. Charles Dickens (Dombey and Son)
When a certain person left the lady with me, he put a piece of paper with a direction written on it in the lady's hand, saying it was in case she should forget. She wasn't afraid of forgetting, for she tore it up as soon as his back was turned, and when I put up the carriage steps, I shook out one of the pieces—she sprinkled the rest out of the window, I suppose, for there was none there afterwards, though I looked for 'em. Charles Dickens (Dombey and Son)
[…] it sprinkled rain late in the afternoon, […] enough to remove some of the dust from the infield. Nashville Tennessean
2. (Metaphorically: the object of the verb is other thing than the liquid one or the granulated one) to scatter, to disperse.
These notices, sprinkled over all his pages, show the source of that frequent mental provocation […] William Gilmore Simms (The Life of Captain John Smith)
She saw, too, cattle sprinkled on the dark fields, sheep and cows […] Virginia Wolf (Orlando)
That persons of prudence, […] like yours, seem to be sprinkled through the world. Samuel Richardson (Clarissa)
3. (The object of the verb is the one over which one sprinkles something liquid or granulated) to besprinkle; to make a sprinkling over (a thing or surface); to disperse something liquid, particulate or granulated over in particles or drops.
Synonyms: bedew; bespatter; powder; spray; splash; spatter, asperge, asperse, drizzle.
Equivalents: rociar, asperger, in Spanish; spruzzare, in Italian; asperger, in French.
Usual syntax: with the preposition with.
The one thinks the water so cold, that he avoids being sprinkled by it; the other is so delighted with its warmth, that he uses it as a bath. Oliver Goldsmith (A History of the Earth)
She took from her traveling-bag a small apparatus for showering eau-de-cologne in spray, and with this sprinkled her forehead; afterward removing the drops with a soft sponge. William Black (Sunrise)
'Foh!' said Mr Chester. 'The very atmosphere that centaur has breathed, seems tainted with the cart and ladder. Here, Peak. Bring some scent and sprinkle the floor; and take away the chair he sat upon, and air it; and dash a little of that mixture upon me. I am stifled!' Charles Dickens (Barnaby Rudge)
The floor was merely sprinkled with rain, and not saturated. Thomas Hardy (The Return of the Native, 1878)
I gently withdrew my still stiff prick. Very little sperm followed the withdrawal. I wiped her cunt dry with my handkerchief […]I laid her gently down on her back, ran to a little stream, and taking two handfuls of water, came back, threw some on the still throbbing cunt, and sprinkled her face with the drops that still adhered to my palms. Wordsworth Book of Classic Erotica
I needed a shower but didn’t have time for one, so I splashed water all over myself and dried off, then applied a deodorant, sprinkled myself with powder, and slipped into a cotton dress and sandals. Wick Downing (The Trials of Kate Hope)
Cut two slices chicken halibut in fillets, sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper, pour over one-third cup white wine, cover, and let stand thirty minutes. Fannie Merritt Farmer (The Bosto Cooking School Cook Book)
He came forward close to the vessel of smoking vinegar; from which he sprinkled himself carefully, and me copiously. Charles Dickens (George Siverman’s Explanation)
4. (As a metaphor of the preceding acceptation) intersperse; diversify or mingle (a thing) with other things scattered.
Postdefinition: used mainly in passive.
Further on we came to Milwaukie, which is rapidly becoming one of the great cities of the West. It lies within a semicircle of green pastoral declivities sprinkled with scattered trees, where the future streets are to be built. William Cullen Bryant (Letters of a Traveller)
In a drive which we took into the country, we had occasion to admire the much talked of verdure and ornamental cultivation of England. Green hedges, rich fields of grass sprinkled with flowers, beautiful residences, were on every side, and the wheels of our carriage rolled over the smoothest roads in the world. William Cullen Bryant (Letters of a Traveller)
Winding roads are made through the green turf, which is now sprinkled with daisies. William Cullen Bryant (Letters of a Traveller)
The Paper Mill had stopped work for the night, and the paths and roads in its neighbourhood were sprinkled with clusters of people going home from their day's labour in it. Charles Dickens (Our Mutual Friend)
[…] I noticed how white his prick was. His flesh was brownish — and being so sprinkled with hair it made it look dark generally. Walter (My Secret Life)
Erasmus not unfrequently sprinkles his explanations of ancient phrase with moral or literary remarks […] Henry Hallam (Introduction to the Literature of Europe)
I perceived a bird of very singular plumage, […]. It appeared to me, at a small distance, to be sprinkled all over with red, green, and yellow. Alexander Wilson (The Natural History of the Birds of the United States)
"Yes," said I. "Estella waved a blue flag, and I waved a red one, and Miss Havisham waved one sprinkled all over with little gold stars, out at the coach-window […]." Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
5. To colour with specks or spots.
Synonyms: speck, spot.
Postdefinition: used mainly in passive.
Chinese potters similarly described the clays as “sprinkled with spots like stars of silver”. Robert Finlay (The Pilgrim Art)
Books may be sprinkled so as to resemble a kind of marble by using 2 or 3 different colours. Charles Lock (Workshop Receipts, 1885)
At the beginning of the tenth century, the Nashidji lacquer, of a yellowish orange colour, sprinkled with gold. S. Hartmann (Japanese Art, 1904)
6. (Obsolete acceptation) to cleanse with a few drops.
Intransitive uses:
1. To spring or be scattered in drops or particles.
Synonyms: spray
Danilova began to sob, untying the bundle. "Sweetheart," she said, the tears sprinkling from her eyes, "Sister Baranova could not give you anything without love”. Andrew Fetler (The Travelers)
The water sprinkling up out of the cans are dashes of thinned Slate Grey. Catherine Holman (Charming Village Scenes You Can Paint, 1999)
Eric breaks down, his tears sprinkling down on her face. “I love you. Sleep now” Bradley Lawrence (Angel)
Jack caught the stone, stared at it, then squeezed his hand together. Powdered crystal sifted through his fingers, the dust sprinkling onto the floor. Rob Preece (One Handsome D…)
2. To scatter a liquid, or any particulate substance, so that it may fall or get applied in particles or drops.
The girl sprinkled of the wine and, immediately, sucked her fingers enticingly.
3. (“Rain” or its pronoun “it” being the subject) to rain or fall sprinklingly or in infrequent and scattered drops.
Antonym: pour
Synonym: drizzle.
They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the sign to change. While they stood there the dark clouds above rumbled and it began to sprinkle.
“Maybe if we’re lucky it won’t start pouring until we get home”, Kelley said, looking up at the clouds.
Jessica Rinaldo (Key to the Gate)
The stale air reminded her of hospital rooms. She lowered the window enough to let the fresh air awaken her after the long journey. The rain sprinkled in and she lifted her face to it, tasting its cool sweetness. Mary Alice Monroe (Time is a River)
As they crouched by the fire that night, the rain sprinkled lightly on the cedar boughs of their lean-to. Bryan Smillie (A Time for Evron)
