asp

¹ American  

[asp] / æsp /

noun

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

2. Archaeology. uraeus.

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asp ² American  

[asp] / æsp /

noun

1. aspen.

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Asp ³ American  

abbreviation

Biochemistry.

1. aspartic acid.

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ASP ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. American selling price.

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

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asp ¹ British  

/ æsp /

noun

1. 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 death See also uraeus

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

3. another name for horned viper

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asp ² British  

/ æsp /

noun

1. an archaic name for the aspen

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Other Word Forms

• aspish adjective

Etymology

Origin of asp¹

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

Origin of asp²

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

Example Sentences

We are always more afraid of something if it sounds like an artificial concoction rather than a natural product, even though asp venom and great white sharks are perfectly natural.

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026

Did she die by clasping an asp to her cleavage?

From Salon • May 11, 2023

While playing outside at day care this week, Lauren Chambers told NBC 5 her 5-year-old daughter, Adrie, was stung by the fuzzy-looking asp caterpillar, also known as the southern flannel moth or puss caterpillar.

From Fox News • Oct. 14, 2018

But rather than keeping it all at arms’ length, and blaming … I don’t know … somebody else, I want to bring it to my bosom like an asp and let it sting me.

From The Guardian • Nov. 11, 2016

I found an opportunity to exchange some words with him, the others rushing out into the yard, waxen clogs a-thumping, to place bets upon a battle royal between a mongoose and an asp.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• cobra