asp

[asp]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR asp ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of several venomous snakes, especially the Egyptian cobra or the horned viper.

Archaeology. uraeus.

Origin of asp

1300–50; back formation from Middle English aspis (taken as plural) < Latin < Greek aspís orig., shield

Related formsasp·ish, adjective

asp

[asp]

noun, adjective

aspen.

Origin of asp

before 900; Middle English aspe, apse, Old English æsp(e), æps(e); cognate with Middle Low German aspe, Old High German aspa (German Espe, with altered vowel < Old High German adj. espîn), Old Norse ǫsp; akin to Latvian apse, Russian osína, Czech osika < North European Indo-European *aps-. See aspen

Asp

Biochemistry.

aspartic acid.

ASP

American selling price.

Computers. application service provider: a company that gives individuals or businesses access through the Internet to specialized software applications and other computer-related services.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for asp

snake, viper, cobra, rattle, copperhead, adder, basilisk, dragon, ophidian

Examples from the Web for asp

Historical Examples of asp

Fierce is the dragon and cunning the asp; but woman has the malice of both.
The Necessity of Atheism
Dr. D.M. Brooks
Woodmen always call the aspen the 'asp,' dropping the termination.
Round About a Great Estate
Richard Jefferies
After that he was to be ready with the asp in the fish-market every day.
Cleopatra, Complete
Georg Ebers
Cleopatra was aware of this, and begged Charmian to remember the asp.
Cleopatra, Complete
Georg Ebers
The asp was worshipped by the Egyptians under the name of urus.
History Of Egypt, Chalda, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 1 (of 12)
G. Maspero

British Dictionary definitions for asp

asp

noun

the venomous snake, probably Naja haje (Egyptian cobra), that caused the death of Cleopatra and was formerly used by the Pharaohs as a symbol of their power over life and deathSee also uraeus

Also called: asp viper a viper, Vipera aspis, that occurs in S Europe and is very similar to but smaller than the adder

horned asp another name for horned viper

Word Origin for asp

C15: from Latin aspis, from Greek

asp

noun

an archaic name for the aspen

Word Origin for asp

Old English æspe; related to Old Norse ösp, Old High German aspa

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for asp

poisonous snake, 1520s, earlier aspis (mid-14c.), from Old French aspe (13c.) or directly from Latin aspidem (nominative aspis), from Greek aspis "shield;" the serpent so called probably in reference to its neck hood.

asp in Medicine

Asp

abbr.

aspartic acid