sprinkle

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈsprɪŋkəl/ UK /ˈsprɪŋkəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to scatter small drops or particles over a surface

She sprinkled cinnamon over the warm porridge.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to scatter small drops or... scatter strew dust spray shower dribble spatter

Opposites

drenchdousesoak

Word family

Derived forms sprinklersprinkling

Etymology

From Middle English sprenkelen, a frequentative probably from Middle Dutch sprenkel ('spot, speckle') or related Germanic forms.

sprenkel Middle Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# sprinkle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsprɪŋkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsprɪŋkəl/

## Meanings
1. to scatter small drops or particles over a surface

## Examples
- She sprinkled cinnamon over the warm porridge.

## Synonyms
- scatter
- strew
- dust
- spray
- shower
- dribble
- spatter

## Antonyms
- drench
- douse
- soak

## Derived Forms
- sprinkler
- sprinkling

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sprenkel

## Etymology
From Middle English sprenkelen, a frequentative probably from Middle Dutch sprenkel ('spot, speckle') or related Germanic forms.

## AI Etymology
Sprinkle comes from Middle English sprenkelen, a frequentative probably from Middle Dutch sprenkel ('spot, speckle') or related Germanic forms. The historical chain includes Middle Dutch sprenkel. The quoted older sense, "spot, speckle," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for sprinkle. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word sprinkle carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to scatter small drops or particles over a surface". English derivatives include sprinkler and sprinkling. The result is a verb and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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