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holy-water sprinkle

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holy-water sprinkle

  • /ˈhəʊliˌwɔːtə ˈspɹɪŋkl̩/ UK
  • /ˈhoʊliˌwɔtəɹ ˈspɹɪŋk(ə)l/ US
  • [-ɾəɹ-] US
  • /-ˌwɑtəɹ-/ US, cot caught merger

Rhymes with -ɪŋkəl

Where it comes from

PIE word

*kéh₂ilos

From Late Middle English haly water spryngelle (“sprinkler for holy water”), from haly water, hōlī water (“water consecrated for use in religious ceremonies”) + sprenkil, springel, spryngelle (“sprinkler for holy water”). By surface analysis, holy water + sprinkle.

Noun sense 2 (“weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes attached rigidly to a staff”) is from its resemblance to the aspergillum, and apparently from the fact that it scattered blood when it came into contact with a person.

noun holy-water sprinkles

  1. Synonym of aspergillum (“an implement, in the form of a brush or of a rod with a perforated container, for sprinkling holy water”). All ſubſtantiues endyng in on, hauyng i cõmyng next before on, be of tbe femyne gendre: Excepte Millyón a myllion⸝ eſcorpión a ſcorpyon a ſarpent⸝ ueſpilión a holy water ſpricle^([sic])⸝ eſtovrgión a ſturgion fiſhe⸝ psalterión a psaltrion […]

    Similar: holy water sprinkler, aspergillum

  2. broadly, historical A 16th-century weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes attached rigidly to a staff, used mainly in England; a morning star. The weapons, called by Germans "Morgen-stern," and in old English Inventories "holy-water sprinkles," from a certain resemblance to the aspergillum used in churches, are comparatively rare in the armories of this country. […] In the Tower survey of 1547 they are often mentioned; e.g.—'Great holly wa

    Similar: holy water sprinkler, morgenstern

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MLA

"holy-water sprinkle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/holy-water%20sprinkle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

holy-water sprinkle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/holy-water%20sprinkle

Chicago

"holy-water sprinkle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/holy-water%20sprinkle.

BibTeX
@misc{holy_water_sprinkle_2026,
  title = {holy-water sprinkle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/holy-water%20sprinkle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}