aspic

¹

[ as-pik ]

noun

1. a savory jelly usually made with meat or fish stock and gelatin, chilled and used as a garnish and coating for meats, seafoods, eggs, etc.
2. a similar jelly made with spiced tomato juice and gelatin, served as a salad.

aspic

²

[ as-pik ]

noun

1. Obsolete. asp ¹( def 1 ).

aspic

³

[ as-pik ]

noun

1. a variety of lavender ( Lavandula spica ) cultivated for its oil, used in perfumes and toiletries.

aspic

¹

/ ˈæspɪk /

noun

1. either of two species of lavender, Lavandula spica or L. latifolia , that yield an oil used in perfumery: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

aspic

²

/ ˈæspɪk /

noun

1. an archaic word for asp 1

aspic

³

/ ˈæspɪk /

noun

1. a savoury jelly based on meat or fish stock, used as a relish or as a mould for meat, vegetables, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspic¹

First recorded in 1780–90; from French; perhaps so called because the form or color resembled those of an asp, or because the jelly was as cold as an asp; aspic ²

Origin of aspic²

First recorded in 1520–30; from French, from Provençal aspic, alteration of Latin aspid- (stem of aspis ) “asp,” from Greek aspíd- (stem of aspís) “Egyptian cobra,” literally, “shield,” possibly so called from the shieldlike appearance of the cobra's head when it attacks; asp ¹

Origin of aspic³

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French  (huile d') aspic, for (huile de) spic “(oil of) lavender spike,” from Old French espic “spike lavender,” originally “spikenard,” from Medieval Latin spīcus “spikenard,” from Latin: variant of spīca, spīcum spike ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspic¹

C16: from Old French, a variant of aspe asp ²

Origin of aspic²

C17: from French, from Old Provençal espic spike, from Latin spīca, head (of flower); compare spikenard

Origin of aspic³

C18: from French: aspic (jelly), asp ¹; variously explained as referring to its colour or coldness as compared to that of the snake

Example Sentences

I went into the desperation pie-baking project thinking it was going to be like when people try to make food from the ’60s and it’s all just weird aspics.

From Eater

Byford rejects the idea “that mass travel to offices is a thing of the past, or that Central London is going to become some sort of tourist attraction preserved in aspic.”

From Time

Ornament the top with chopped aspic and alternate slices of lemon and cucumber round.

From Project Gutenberg

Roast a brace of grouse, and skin them, and mask them with brown sauce in which aspic has been mixed.

From Project Gutenberg

Turn out and decorate the base with chopped aspic, truffles, parsley, and tomatoes.

From Project Gutenberg

Garnish with chopped aspic round the larks, and sippets of aspic beyond this.

From Project Gutenberg

Take a pretty shaped jelly mould, pour in a little of the red aspic to about rather more than a quarter of the mould.

From Project Gutenberg