English
sprinkle
Sprinkle comes from Middle Dutch sprenkelen.
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500sprenkelen
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sprenkelen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611sprinkle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500sprenkelen
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sprenkelen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611sprinkle
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And the priest shall[…]sprinkle of the oil with his…”
Formed from sprink + -le
Proto-Indo-European *sperǵʰ- ‘to move energetically, hurry, spring’
…
Proto-West Germanic *springan ‘to spring, to jump up’
Old English springan ‘to leap, bound’
Middle English spryngen ‘to spring, sprinkle’
Middle English sprinken
English sprink
Every English word from Middle Dutch sprenkelen
Today it means
verb To cause (a substance) to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Dutch sprenkelen / sprinkle