Aspergy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or result of scattering drops of liquid over something, especially holy water sprinkled during a religious rite
2. A light shower of water or other liquid cast over a person or object, traditionally as a blessing or act of purification
3. Sprinkling of a fluid, most often consecrated water, applied over people or things in a ceremonial or ritual setting

Etymology: The Latin opening of Psalm 51 in the Vulgate, "Asperges me hyssopo et mundabor" ("You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed"), gave the Church its name for the rite of sprinkling holy water. Hyssop, a bushy herb, was the branch used in ancient Israel to sprinkle blood and water for ritual purification, which is why the psalm names it. The verb behind the word is the Latin "aspergere," from "ad-" (to, upon) and "spargere" (to scatter), so "aspergy" and "asperge" share a root meaning to scatter or sprinkle over something. The name also passed to the Mass: the Asperges is the antiphon sung during the sprinkling, so a single verse came to stand for the whole ceremony. The sprinkling implement, the aspergillum, is built on the same Latin stem.