What does asp mean?
An asp is most famously a venomous snake of the Nile valley, identified chiefly with the Egyptian cobra, whose bite delivers potent neurotoxic venom. It occupies a permanent place in Western imagination through the story of Cleopatra, who according to ancient accounts took her own life by allowing an asp to bite her—a scene immortalized by Shakespeare. Less familiarly, especially to British readers, an asp is also a poplar tree, more commonly called the aspen, celebrated for leaves that shiver in the lightest wind. The two senses are unrelated in meaning: the snake takes its name from Greek 'aspis,' which denoted both a viper and a shield, while the tree name arose independently. Today the word appears mostly in historical, literary, and zoological contexts, carrying connotations of danger, elegance, and classical drama rather than everyday description.
A venomous snake of North Africa and the Middle East, especially the Egyptian cobra.
"Roman writers described how the asp was smuggled into the queen's chamber hidden among figs."
Chiefly British: the Eurasian aspen or a similar poplar, whose leaves tremble in the breeze.
"Wind moved through the asps, setting every leaf quivering."
This sense overlaps heavily with 'aspen,' which is now the more usual term.
Regular plural; applies to both the snake and the tree.
"The dry hillsides were said to be thick with asps."
The asp's name comes from the Greek word for shield—its flared hood supposedly resembled one.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of asp
The snake-name comes from Latin 'aspis,' borrowed from Greek 'aspis,' meaning both a venomous serpent and a round shield—the latter likely inspiring the former by comparison with the snake's spread hood. English adopted the word in the medieval period via Old French. The tree sense, recorded from around the sixteenth century, developed as a variant of 'aspen,' itself rooted in Old English 'æspe.' A distant cousin sharing the Greek root survives in 'aspidistra,' ultimately from Greek 'aspidion' (little shield).
How asp is actually used
The serpent sense dominates in American English; in Britain the tree sense (more often simply called 'aspen') is well established. Both senses are literary-to-neutral in register, and the snake carries strong connotations of treachery and deadly beauty thanks to Shakespeare and classical accounts.
Easily confused with asp
A wasp is a stinging flying insect, while an asp is a venomous snake.
To gasp is to draw in breath suddenly, whereas an asp is a snake.