bespray en · VERB
Etymology
From be- (“on, upon, all over”) + spray.
Meanings
-
(rare, transitive) To spray on; spray all over; besprinkle, bespatter.
In the heart of the rude Mountains shines the graceful seeming-boy, encircled with toppling cliffs, besprayed with cataracts, in the middle of a motley horde.
1858, Thomas Carlyle, Meister's Travels:[…] the more voracious fellows disposing of the food before the feeder has time to dump all of it, and in the bargain perhaps liberally bespraying the man with mud or swill, […]
1919, Bernard Lyman Johnson, Farm Mechanics:Her limbs are roseate, and a sparkling dew Besprays her symmetry, as from the sea […]
1881, Richard H. Horne, Bible Tragedies, page 30:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| besprayed | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| besprayed | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| bespraying | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| besprays | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |