A small brush or vessel used in religious ceremonies to sprinkle holy water, named for its resemblance to the spore-producing structure of Aspergillus fungi.
From Latin 'aspergillum,' derived from 'aspergere' (to sprinkle), composed of 'ad-' (to) + 'spargere' (to scatter or sprinkle). Catholic liturgical tradition preserved this Latin word for the sacred sprinkler used in Mass.
This is a perfect example of how a Latin word for a religious tool became the scientific name for an entire genus of fungi—the 17th-century microscopist who first described Aspergillus thought its spore heads looked exactly like a holy water sprinkler, so he borrowed the ecclesiastical term!
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