aspersion

Etymology

From Latin aspersiōnem, from aspersiō (“sprinkling”).

noun

1. An attack on somebody's reputation or good name, often in the phrase to cast aspersions upon….
   No criminality can be infered or punishment inflicted, but for writing, printing, uttering, or publishing false, scandalous and malicious aspersions against the government. 1799, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, “Resolutions of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania to Kentucky”, in State Documents on Federal Relations, University of Pennsylvania, published 1906, page 21
   Even the comfort of the bottle might conceivably fail him in this supreme crisis. At such an age nothing but a halter could cure the pangs of an unquenchable passion. And, besides, there was the wild exasperation aroused by the unjust aspersions and the contumely of the house, with the maddening impossibility to account for that mysterious thrashing, added to these simple and bitter sorrows. 1911, Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes
   Back in 2018, the body representing the water industry was snorting at Gove’s aspersions, declaring hotly that it looked forward to its pet regulator “bringing some sorely needed facts and balance to the debate”. 2023-06-30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian
2. (obsolete) A sprinkling, especially of holy water.
3. (in the plural) slander, calumny