asp meaning (archaic): definition, etymology and quotations

asp

noun

UK /ɑːsp/ · US /æsp/

Etymology From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide.

7 senses

1A water snake.
2A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis).
3The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje).
4An evil person; a snake.
5A type of European fish (Aspius aspius).
6The caterpillar of various types of flannel moths which…
7Any caterpillar which inflicts a sharp pain when their…

Archaic A water snake.

A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis).

The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje).

Figuratively An evil person; a snake.

'Two thousand years ago did thou and I and that Egyptian asp rest therein, but since then have I not set foot here, nor any man, and perchance it has fallen,' and, followed by the rest of us, she passed up a vast flight of broken and ruined steps into the outer court, and looked round into the gloom.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

A type of European fish (Aspius aspius).

Southern US The caterpillar of various types of flannel moths which induce an intense pain when their hair is touched.

Southern US, Broadly Any caterpillar which inflicts a sharp pain when their hair is touched.

Synonyms: asp viper, European asp, aspis viper
Derived terms: aspish, asplike, sand asp
Related terms: aspis

asp

noun

Etymology From Middle English aspe (aspen (in compounds)), from Old English æspe (æspan (in compounds)), from Proto-West Germanic *aspu, from Proto-Germanic *aspō, from Proto-Indo-European *Hosp-. See also Dutch esp, German Espe, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål asp, Norwegian Nynorsk osp; also Welsh aethnen, Latin abiēs (“fir”), Latvian apse, Polish osa, Old Armenian ոփի (opʻi, “poplar”).

An aspen tree.

Derived terms: quaking asp