▪ I. ˈsprinkling, vbl. n.1
[f. sprinkle v.1]
1. The action of the verb in various senses.
| c 1440 Alph. Tales 83 With þe sprenclyng of his wengis, þe peper & þe sauce light vppon bathe thies gosseps. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 470/2 Sprenkelynge, or strenkelynge, aspercio, conspercio. 1535 Coverdale Heb. xii. 24 The sprenklynge off bloude, that speaketh better then the bloude of Abel. 1608 Bp. Hall Epist. 4 Your clericall shauings,..your crossings, creepings, censings, sprinklings, your cozening miracles. 1611 Cotgr., Espardement, a scattering, sprinkling, dispersing, dissipation. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 103 Immersion is not strictly necessary unto Baptism; but it may be perform'd even by Effusion or Sprinkling. 1846 Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. II. 59 The frequent sprinkling of the gypsum upon stable floors. 1874 H. H. Cole Catal. Ind. Art S. Kens. Mus. App. 288 Rosewater Stand, surmounted by eight squirts for sprinkling. |
2. A small quantity sprinkled or to be sprinkled.
| 1657 Davenant Gondibert ii. i. 35 Bring Sprinklings, Lamp, and th' Altar's precious breath. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Dash, A soft Shower, or a sprinkling of Rain. 1727 Swift City Shower Wks. 1755 III. ii. 38 Such is that sprinkling, which some careless quean Flirts on you from her mop. 1760 R. Brown Compl. Farmer ii. 72 A little sprinkling of dung or mud upon rye-land will mightily advance a crop. 1835 W. Irving Tour Prairies 125 As could be seen by sprinklings of blood here and there on the shrubs. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 667 A sprinkling of salt, or of wood ashes,..may be scattered on the surface of the beds. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton iv. 36 A sprinkling of rain about his big brown beard. |
3. fig. a. A small or slight quantity or amount.
| 1594 Nashe Terrors of Night Wks. (Grosart) III. 247 Men which haue had some little sprinkling of Grammer learning in their youth. 1600 Holland Livy xliv. xxvi. 1186 Himselfe brought with him..some litle sprinkling of gold to deale among a few of them. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Epid. 32 It containeth strange and singular relations, not without some spice or sprinckling of all learning. 1693 Dryden Disc. Satire Ess. (Ker) II. 108 Some sprinklings of this kind I had also formerly in my plays; but they were casual, and not designed. 1706 A. Bedford Temple Mus. iii. 62 The Noise may seem to pretend to a dash and sprinkling of Art. 1798 Hull Advertiser 23 June 4/4 Corn Exchange. We had a pretty sprinkling of wheat fresh in this morning. 1840 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) I. 152 We require a little sprinkling of philosophy. 1844 Mem. Babylonian Princess II. 190 Few of these people are without some sprinkling of knowledge. |
b. A small number scattered or distributed here and there.
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. xv. 182 We haue a sprinkling of our Gentry, heere and there one, excellently well learned. 1706 E. Gibson Assize Serm. Popery 3 A sprinkling of gray hairs foretels the approaches of old age. 1721 Mortimer Husb. (ed. 2) II. 125 You may sow..a sprinkling of Carrots or Lettice between them the first Year. 1809 European Mag. LV. 20 There was a pretty good ‘sprinkling’ of genteel company..in the promenades. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schlm. (1858) 51 My native town had possessed..its sprinkling of intelligent, book-consulting mechanics and tradesfolk. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxv. 545 Every man..to whom a sprinkling of foreign words seemed an ornament of speech. |
4. attrib. and Comb., as sprinkling-brush, sprinkling-cart, sprinkling glass, sprinkling-machine, sprinkling-pitcher, sprinkling water; sprinkling irrigation = spray irrigation s.v. spray n.2 3 c.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Wks. (Grosart) III. 142 Following him, with his sprinkling glasse,..from place to place. 1648 Hexham ii, Een Bespruyt-kruycke, a Sprinkling, or a Spout-picher for gardens. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Heb. ix. 9 There was also a sprinkling water to sprinkle on such as should be unclean. 1859 Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. ii. 24 A man driving a sprinkling-machine. 1876 L. Stephen Eng. Th. 18th C. I. iv. vi. 256 Even the same form of sprinkling-brush was retained. 1896 Harper's Mag. XCII. 812/2 He..got a job at driving a sprinkling-cart. 1927 Bull. New Jersey Agric. Exper. Station No. 453. 3 Three general methods of irrigation, known as surface, sub-, and sprinkling irrigation have been developed. Ibid., Sprinkling irrigation, also known as overhead or Skinner irrigation, from the name of the inventor, is the method of watering crops by means of spray from small nozzles. |
▪ II. † ˈsprinkling, vbl. n.2 Obs.
[f. sprinkle v.2]
The fact of sparkling.
| 1548 Elyot, Scintillatio,..a sprynclyng vp as newe wyne dooeth in the cuppe. 1582 Batman Barth. De P.R. viii. xxxiii. 135 b/2 By chaunging of coulour, and sprincklyng of beames. |
▪ III. ˈsprinkling, ppl. a.
[f. sprinkle v.1]
1. Scattering small drops or particles.
In quot. 1567 perh. ‘sparkling’, f. sprinkle v.2
| 1567 Turberv. Epit., Upon Death of R. Edwards 78 b, Welles..Whose sprinckling springs and golden streames ere this thou well didst knowe. 1621 W. Sandys Ovid's Met. (1626) 110 Back to the shore she casts a heauy eye;..And from the sprinkling waues..shrinks her trembling feete. 1716 Gay Trivia ii. 421 When..dex'trous damsels twirl the sprinkling mop. 1757 Dyer Fleece i. 464 Lo! in the sprinkling clouds your bleating hills Rejoice with herbage. 1859 Tennyson in Ld. H. Tennyson Mem. (1897) I. 456 A few sprinkling springlets by the wayside. |
2. Falling in scattered drops.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. iv. 137 [Her] pittifull lookes, and sprinkling teares. 1666 W. Boghurst Loimographia (1894) 29 There being no raine at all, but a little sprinkling Showre. |
Hence ˈsprinklingly adv.
| 1615 H. Crooke Body of Man 898 They offer also small shootes sprinklingly vnto the skin of the chest. 1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 286 He speaks his non-sence, sleightly, sprinklingly. |