Cast Aspersions on——誹謗

** to criticize someone or someone's actions or character harshly or unfairly（嚴厲或不公平地批評某人或某人的行為或性格）// to sprinkle holy water in a baptism（在洗禮中灑聖水）

~~詆譭；濫加誹謗；造謠中傷某人；污衊某人；誹謗某人；誣衊某人；說人壞話

~~ disparage（貶損）；slander（誹謗）；defame（詆譭）；derogate（貶低）；malign（污衊）；vilify（醜化）；belittle（輕視）

!! To “asperse” and “asperge,” both of which can be traced back to Latin aspergere, meant to sprinkle or bespatter. So, aspersion meant the action of sprinkling somebody with something, usually water, which was and is commonly used in Christian baptism. （“asperse”和“asperge”，這兩個詞都可以追溯到拉丁語“aspergere”，意思是灑或潑濺。因此，aspersion意味着向某人灑一些東西，通常是水，這是基督教洗禮中常用方法。）

!! Around the middle of the 17th century, aspersion began to refer to the figurative idea that a person was sprinkling his neighborhood with damaging imputations or false statements.

（大約在17世紀中葉，“aspersion”開始是比喻一個人向他的鄰居散佈破壞性污名或虛假陳述。）

>> How dare you cast aspersions on my wife's character.

（你竟敢詆譭我妻子的品行。）

>> Mr. Wong shouldn't cast aspersions on his ex-wife.

（王先生不應誹謗他的前妻。）

學勤進修教育中心英語專科導師 李啟文 教授