aspic

aspic
\ \ [18] Aspic was borrowed from French, where, like the archaic English asp which reputedly bit Cleopatra, it also means ‘snake’ (ultimately from Greek aspís). This has led to speculation that aspic the jelly was named from aspic the snake on the basis that the colours and patterns in which moulds of aspic were made in the 18th and 19th centuries resembled a snake’s coloration. There does not appear to be any watertight evidence for this rather far-fetched theory, and perhaps more plausible is some connection with French aspic ‘lavender, spikenard’, formerly used for flavouring aspic, or with Greek aspís ‘shield’ (source of aspidistra [19]), on the basis that the earliest aspic moulds were shield-shaped.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • aspic — aspic …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • aspic — 1. (a spik) s. m. 1°   Serpent très venimeux. L aspic des anciens est l haje. En Europe, on donne ce nom, parmi le peuple, à une espèce de vipère. 2°   Fig. C est un aspic, se dit d un homme dangereux par sa médisance. Une langue d aspic, une… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • aspic — ASPÍC, aspicuri, s.n. Substanţă gelatinoasă obţinută din suc de oase şi de carne, folosită la unele mâncăruri (ca garnitură). – Din fr. aspic. Trimis de cata, 11.02.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  ASPÍC s. gelatină. (Curcan în aspic.) Trimis de siveco,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Aspic — de huevo. Aspic tipo Sülze. Se d …   Wikipedia Español

  • aspic — ASPIC. s. m. Petit serpent, dont la morsure est très dangereuse. Il fut piqué d un aspic. f♛/b] On appelle figurément Un médisant, Un aspic, une langue d aspic.[b]Aspic, se dit aussi d Une espèce de Lavande d une odeur très forte. En ce sens il n …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • aspic — ASPIC. s. m. Petit serpent dont la morsure est mortelle. Il a esté piqué d un aspic.. On appelle fig. les medisants, Langues d aspic. Aspic, Est aussi une espece de lavande, d une odeur tres forte. Huile d aspic …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • ASPIC — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. {{{image}}}   Sigles d une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres   Sigles de trois lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • aspic — 1789, savory meat jelly, from Fr. aspic jelly (18c.), lit. asp, from O.Fr. aspe (see ASP (Cf. asp)) + ending from basilisc basilisk (the two creatures sometimes were confused with one another). The foodstuff said to be so called from its coldness …   Etymology dictionary

  • aspic — Aspic, Herbe, Pseudonardum, Nardus celtica. Nomen habet a spica quam fert spicae tritici non absimilem. Aspic d outre mer, Nardus Indica, Spica nardi. Serpent nommé Aspic, Aspis, aspidis …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Aspic — As pic, n. [F., prob. fr. aspic an asp.] A savory meat jelly containing portions of fowl, game, fish, hard boiled eggs, etc. Thackeray. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ASPIC — may be:* Advanced Space Propulsion Investigation Committee * Advanced SCSI Programmable Interrupt Controller * Application Service Provider Industry Consortium * Armed Services Personnel Interrogation Center * Association for Strategic Planning… …   Wikipedia

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