# *Aspersion*

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### **PRONUNCIATION:**

(uh-SPUHR-zhuhn/shuhn)

### **MEANING:**

noun:

1. A damaging accusation: slander.

2. The sprinkling with water, as in baptism.

### **ETYMOLOGY:**

From Latin aspergere (to sprinkle), from ad- (toward) + spargere (to strew). Earliest documented use: 1570.