aspergillum

[ as-per-jil-uhm ]

noun

, Roman Catholic Church.

, plural as·per·gil·la [as-per-, jil, -, uh], as·per·gil·lums.

1. a brush or instrument for sprinkling holy water; aspersorium.

aspergillum

/ ˌæspəˈdʒɪləm; ˈæspədʒɪl /

noun

1. another term for aspersorium

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspergillum¹

1640–50; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin asperg ( ere ) to besprinkle ( a- ⁵, sparge ) + -illum diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspergillum¹

C17: from New Latin aspergillum, from Latin aspergere, from spargere to sprinkle

Example Sentences

Aspergillus fumigatus is a grayish-green mold that gets its weird name from the shape of its spore-producing structures, which resemble an aspergillum, a Christian liturgical tool used to sprinkle holy water.

From Salon

After Communion, the parishioners, many carrying bunches of willow branches wrapped in twine, congregated before the altar as Lebed picked up the aspergillum, a brush he used to sprinkle holy water.

From Los Angeles Times

They came one at a time, raising their branches above their head while Lebed dipped the aspergillum into a nearby basin and swung it in a powerful arc toward each supplicant, inundating their branch and face with the water.

From Los Angeles Times

At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, cylindrical clusters of the glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum jut upward like skyscrapers in the deep sea.

From New York Times

Harvard University researchers hoping to build stronger and lighter structures looked for inspiration in the deep-water sponge Euplectella aspergillum, whose tubelike skeleton forms a square grid with diagonal reinforcements.

From Scientific American