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• jasper
  jasper

  noun

  a compact, opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, usually colored red: often used in decorative carvings.
• Jasper
  Jasper

  noun

  a city in NW Alabama.

jasper

¹ American  

[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

1. a compact, opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz, usually colored red: often used in decorative carvings.

2. Also called jasper ware;.  Also called cameo ware.  a fine, hard stoneware introduced c1775 by Wedgwood, stained various colors by metallic oxides, with raised designs in white.

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jasper ² American  

[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

Older Slang.

1. a fellow; guy.

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Jasper ³ American  

[jas-per] / ˈdʒæs pər /

noun

1. a city in NW Alabama.

2. a resort town in SW Alberta, in SW Canada, on the Athabasca River: headquarters for Jasper National Park.

3. a male given name, form of Caspar.

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jasper British  

/ ˈdʒæspə /

noun

1. an opaque impure microcrystalline form of quartz, red, yellow, brown, or dark green in colour, used as a gemstone and for ornamental decoration

2. Also called: jasper ware.  a dense hard stoneware, invented in 1775 by Wedgwood, capable of being stained throughout its substance with metallic oxides and used as background for applied classical decoration

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jasper Scientific  

/ jăs′pər /

1. A reddish, brown, or yellow variety of chert. Jasper usually occurs in association with iron ores and contains iron impurities that give it its color.

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Etymology

Origin of jasper¹

1300–50; Middle English jaspe, jaspre < Middle French; Old French jaspe < Latin iaspis < Greek iáspis < Semitic; compare Arabic yashb

Origin of jasper²

1895–1900, special use of proper name Jasper

Explanation

Jasper is a hard, semiprecious stone that's usually red. One of your birthstones is jasper if you were born in the month of March. Jasper is a type of quartz that can be brown, yellow, or green, but is most often a mottled, brick red color. When geologists find jasper embedded in cracks of volcanic rocks, it looks dull and drab, but it's beautifully shiny after being polished. Jasper has been used in jewelry and decorative objects for thousands of years. The word jasper means "spotted or speckled stone," from a Greek root.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jasper Jasper

Two layered discs carved out of Dalmatian jasper support a pink-hued thulite bowl; the materials were selected by the brand’s gemologists and cut and polished by lapidaries to bring out their full character.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2024

It’s a desolate alluvial fan on the southern flanks of the Cady Mountains, where sparkling calcite crystals and pieces of quartz, jasper and agate are continually carried down the slopes by thunderstorms and flash floods.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2023

Chakra practitioners believe that a red stone, such as jasper, can help with increasing confidence, overcoming fear and achieving stability.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2023

Just south of Ocean Shores at the tip of the C-shaped bay, you’ll find Damon Point, a half-mile peninsula famous locally for post-storm agates and red and green jasper.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2022

The box was carved wood, its mother-of-pearl lid inlaid with jasper and chalcedony.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Jury-rigging their electricity and doting on a dog named Jasper, they pass the time playing poker with stacks of now-useless greenbacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Davis, the daughter of comedian Jasper Carrott, starred as the office receptionist in the groundbreaking sitcom, which ran from 2001 to 2003.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

“At the time our results were disputed,” said Donovan Jasper, one of the researchers involved in the project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

He remained an unused substitute in the next round - when it again went to penalties - and the Dutch went out with Jasper Cillessen not saving any kicks.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Jasper barked furiously, and darting between my legs into the room he tore to the open door of the store.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier