▪ I. sparge, n.
(spɑːdʒ)
Also Sc. spairge.
[f. next.]
1. The act of sprinkling or splashing; a sprinkle or slight dash (of liquor, etc.).
| 1808 in Jamieson. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 56 Chariots and horse-hoofs round did scatter Scamander's sand wi' spairge and splatter. 1867 G. W. Donald Poems (1879) 72/2 A spairge may put us in repair When coughs an' caulds our stammacks pester. |
2. Brewing. A spray of warm water sprinkled over the malt.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 107 The malt is exhausted by eight or ten successive sprinklings of liquor.., which are termed in the vernacular tongue, sparges. 1869 W. Molyneux Burton-on-Trent 244 The ‘sparge’ is set to run on the malt an additional quantity of water. |
3. attrib., as sparge arm Brewing, a sparge pipe used to sprinkle hot water over the malt, usu. arranged to rotate above the tun; sparge pipe, a horizontal perforated pipe used to sprinkle or spray water or other liquids, esp. one used to flush a slab urinal.
| 1947 Brewing (ed. 2) ii. 23 The holes in the actual sparge arms have to be made much larger. 1971 J. S. Hough et al. Malting & Brewing Sci. x. 261 Other rotating machinery within the mash tun comprises sparge arms (which are moved by water pressure) for spraying liquor evenly over the goods. |
| 1910 Maxwell & Brown Encycl. Municipal & Sanitary Engin. 444/2 Sparge pipe, a pipe having fine holes drilled throughout its length so as to deliver a spray of water as is required for flushing. 1948 Archit. Rev. CIV. 289 A sparge pipe on the sky-light ridge cools the glass by water spray in summer. c 1972 Shanks (Barrhead) Catal. 93 Chromium plated flush and sparge pipes with clips. |
▪ II. sparge, v.
(spɑːdʒ)
Also 8–9 Sc. spairge.
[app. ad. OF. espargier or L. spargĕre to sprinkle; but in sense 1 answering to parget v. and having the earlier variants spargen and sparget.]
1. trans. To plaster; to rough-cast.
| 1560 Edinb. Burgh Recs. 62 To reparrall the kirk, to lay the throwchis thairof of new and sparge the samyn. 1597 Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 48 The haill eldaris hes promeist a boll lyme ilk ane of thame to sparge the kirk withall. a 1670 J. Lamont Diary (1810) 156 Att this time also, the fore⁓pairt of the house was sparged, with the tower-head. 1883 Almondbury Gloss. 125 Sparge, to point or plaster the inside of a chimney. |
2. To bespatter, besprinkle. Also fig.
| 1786 Burns A Dream vii, An' Will's a true guid fallow's get, A Name not Envy spairges. 1821 W. Liddle Poems 127 Auld Cloot at last may spairge ye lightly. |
3. To dash, splash, or sprinkle (water, etc.) about. Also fig.
| 1785–6 Burns Address to Deil i, O thou!..Wha..Spairges about the brunstane cootie To scaud poor wretches! 1808 Jamieson, Spairge, to dash; as, to spairge water. 1875 G. Macdonald Malcolm I. i. 5 Nobody..'at wad gang and spairge sic havers aboot her. |
4. a. Brewing. To sprinkle (malt) with hot water. Also absol.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 107 It would keep up an uniform temperature in the goods, without requiring them to be sparged with very hot liquor. 1885 Civilian 3 Jan. 133/1 He, too, sparges for small beer with hot liquor. |
b. To aerate (a liquid) with air (in quot. absol.).
| 1973 Nature 23 Feb. 534/1 The pH was adjusted to 3·8 with concentrated HCl and aeration and mixing accomplished by sparging with air. |
Hence ˈsparging vbl. n. Also attrib.
| 1590 in Pitcairn Crim. Trials (Bann. Cl.) I. iii. 210 Quha had offendit him in nocht spargeing of his chalmer. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 404/2 If sparging or sprinkling the water over the goods should be adopted..instead of mashing. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 107 The only serious objection to the sparging system is the loss of time by the successive drainages. 1869 W. Molyneux Burton-on-Trent 245 The malt has had its regulated series of spargings. 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 274/2 The heat of the sparging water..must be modified by circumstances. |