asper

See also: Asper and as per

English

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæspə/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈæspəɹ/
Audio (US) (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English aspre, from Old French aspre (modern French âpre), from Latin asper (“rough”).

Alternative forms

aspre

Adjective

asper (comparative more asper, superlative most asper)

(obsolete) Rough or harsh; severe, stern, serious.
- 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], OCLC 1044372886:
  An asper sound.

Noun

asper (uncountable)

(phonetics, obsolete) Rough breathing; a mark (#) indicating that part of a word is aspirated, or pronounced with h before it.

Derived terms

spiritus asper

Etymology 2

From Middle English asper, from Middle French aspre or Italian aspro, both from Ancient Greek ἄσπρον (áspron), from neuter of ἄσπρος (áspros, “white”), from Latin asper (“rough, newly minted”).

Alternative forms

aspron

Noun

asper (plural aspers)

(historical) Any one of several small coins, circulated around the eastern Mediterranean area from the 12th to 17th centuries.
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
  And for ten Aspers you shall daily finde some amongst them, that will give themselves a deepe gash with a Scimitarie, either in their armes or thighes.

Anagrams

Earps, Pears, Peras, RESPA, Rapes, Spear, Spera, apers, apres, après, après-, aprés, pares, parse, pears, prase, presa, præs., rapes, reaps, sarpe, spare, spear

Latin

Etymology

Probably from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂esp- (“to cut”), also present in Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís) and Hittite [script needed] (ḫasp-).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈas.per/, [ˈäs̠pɛr]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈas.per/, [ˈäsper]

Adjective

asper (feminine aspera, neuter asperum, comparative asperior, superlative asperrimus, adverb asperē); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

rough, uneven, coarse
unrefined, rude
sharp, newly minted
harsh, bitter, fierce
Synonyms: ācer, acerbus, frāctus
odia aspera ― bitter hatred

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).

Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Number	Singular			Plural
Nominative	asper	aspera	asperum	asperī	asperae	aspera
Genitive	asperī	asperae	asperī	asperōrum	asperārum	asperōrum
Dative	asperō	asperae	asperō	asperīs
Accusative	asperum	asperam	asperum	asperōs	asperās	aspera
Ablative	asperō	asperā	asperō	asperīs
Vocative	asper	aspera	asperum	asperī	asperae	aspera

Derived terms

asperē
asperitās
asperiter
asperitūdō
asperō
asperūgō
perasper
subasper

Descendants

Albanian: ashpër
Aromanian: ascuru
Asturian: aspru, ásperu
Catalan: aspre
French: âpre
Galician: áspero
Greek: άσπρο (áspro)
Italian: aspro
Greek: άσπρος (áspros)
Occitan: aspre
Portuguese: áspero
Romanian: aspru
Sardinian: aspru, aspu
Spanish: áspero

References

“asper”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“asper”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
asper in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) rough and hilly ground: loca aspera et montuosa (Planc. 9. 22)
“asper”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
“asper”, in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Anagrams

pares

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

asper m or f

indefinite plural of asp