English word origin

Etymology of asp

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.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A water snake. · A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis). · The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje). · An evil person; a snake.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionaspeenm
Derivation mentionaspefro
Derivation mentionaspisla
Derivation mentionἀσπίςgrc · shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje
Cognate mentionaspideenm

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "aspe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aspe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "aspe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French aspe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "aspis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin aspis"
    },
    {
      "name": "taxlink",
      "args": {
        "1": "Naja haje",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Naja haje"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ἀσπίς",
        "t": "shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "aspide"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aspide"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "aspe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "aspe",
      "aspe#Old_French"
    ],
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      "aspis#Latin"
    ],
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      "aspidis",
      "aspidis#Latin"
    ],
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      "ἀσπίς",
      "ἀσπίς#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "aspide",
      "aspide#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A water snake.",
        "A venomous viper native to southwestern Europe (Vipera aspis).",
        "The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje).",
        "An evil person; a snake."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "figuratively"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

An aspen tree.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionaspeenm
Inherited-form mentionæspeang
Inherited-form mention*aspugmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*aspōgem-pro
Inherited-form mention*Hosp-ine-pro
Cognate mentionespnl
Cognate mentionEspede
Cognate mentionaspnb
Cognate mentionospnn
Cognate mentionaethnency
Cognate mentionabiēsla · fir
Cognate mentionapselv
Cognate mentionosapl
Cognate mentionոփիxcl · poplar

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "aspe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aspe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "æspe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English æspe"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *aspu"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*Hosp-"
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      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *Hosp-"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "esp"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch esp"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Espe"
      },
      "expansion": "German Espe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "asp"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål asp"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "osp"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk osp"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "aethnen"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh aethnen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "abiēs",
        "t": "fir"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin abiēs (“fir”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "apse"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian apse"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "osa"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish osa"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xcl",
        "2": "ոփի",
        "t": "poplar"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Armenian ոփի (opʻi, “poplar”)"
    }
  ],
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      "aspen",
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      "æspe#Old_English"
    ],
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      "æspan",
      "æspan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*aspu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/aspu"
    ],
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      "*aspō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aspō"
    ],
    [
      "*Hosp-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/Hosp-"
    ],
    [
      "esp",
      "esp#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Espe",
      "Espe#German"
    ],
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      "asp#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
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      "osp#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
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      "aethnen#Welsh"
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      "abiēs",
      "abies#Latin"
    ],
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      "apse",
      "apse#Latvian"
    ],
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      "osa#Polish"
    ],
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      "ոփի",
      "ոփի#Old_Armenian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An aspen tree."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for asp →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-YXNw