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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

And Oregon produces different varieties of sunstone and jasper.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2022

"How did that piece of jasper get there?"

From Salon ● May 6, 2022

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

“I was surprised when an old one-eyed jasper that was built along the lines of Grover Cleveland went up and was sworn. I say ‘old.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2020

As he stood, his robes shimmered, the purple shifting until it was the same deep blue of his jasper scepter.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

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

Jasper sees Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s revelations as affirmation of his team’s earlier research.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Jasper Wiese had swept past Alex Coles with a run bristling with evil intent.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

I remembered I had left my knitting in the morning-room before lunch, and I went along through the drawing-room to fetch it, the faithful Jasper at my heels.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier