SPRAY, noun [probably allied to sprig. The radical sense is a shoot.] 1. A small shoot or branch; or the extremity of a branch. Hence in England, spray faggots are bundles of small branches, used as fuel. 2. Among seamen, the water that is driven from the top of a wave in a storm, which spreads and flies in small particles. It differs from spoon-drift; as spray is only occasional, whereas spoon-drift flies continually along the surface of the sea.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI