besprenge

B3E1S1P3R1E1N1G2E1
/bɪˈspɹɛnd͡ʒ/

verb

To sprinkle or scatter.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

verbbesprenge (third-person singular simple present besprenges, present participle besprenging, simple past and past participle besprent)

present singular third person besprenges · participle present besprenging · participle past besprent · past besprent · alternative bespreng

  1. obsolete except as past participle adjectiveTo sprinkle or scatter.

    his ample mush was pleated with fat, wormed with the great pox and so besprent with whelks, bubules and burst capillaries that it seemed like a contour map of the Trossachs.

    1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin, published 2001, page 78
    2 more examples

    [T]here vvas brought unto him an horſe named Babylonius, vvhich happening to be ſore vexed vvith a ſuddaine gripe or vvring in his belly, fell dovvne, and vvhiles hee vvas not able to endure the paine, vvallovveth along, and happeneth to beſprent his capariſon and ornaments richly garniſhed vvith gold and precious ſtones. At vvhich ſtrange ſight he tooke great joy, and cryed out, vvith the applauſe of thoſe next about him, That Babylon vvas fallen, and lay along on the ground diſpoyled of all her ornaments.

    1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXIII. Booke.] Chapter II. Being Departed out of Antioch, He was Troubled and Haunted with Strange Signes and Dreames: But afterwards Comforted againe by Sundrie Presages, and the Arrivall of a Most Puissant Armadoe, He Proceedeth in His Intended Voyage.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie, […], London: […] Adam Jslip, →OCLC, pages 220–221

    His placidity was fully restored by the appearance of the steaming dishes, with their burden of canary-yellow besprent with green, which dispersed a mild warm fragrance of eggs and butter upon the air.

    1927, H.T. Lowe-Porter, translation of Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain, Knopf 1946 [1927], p. 564

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Old Englishbesprenġan
  2. Middle Englishbesprengen
  3. Englishbesprenge

From Middle English besprengen, from Old English besprenġan, equivalent to be- (“about; all over”) + springe (“to sprinkle”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

besprenge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besprenge

MLA

“besprenge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besprenge. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “besprenge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besprenge.

Source: besprenge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.