asp (2), aspic, taspick

[In Sw. esping; Fr. aspic; Prov. aspic, aspis; Sp. aspid; Port. aspide, aspid; Ital. aspide; Lat. aspis; Gr. ἀσπίς ( aspis ) = a round shield; an asp.] 1. The kind of serpent which has obtained great celebrity from having been chosen by Cleopatra to give her an easy death. It is believed to have been the Naia Haje. It is the same genus as the Cobra Capello, but differs in having the neck le wide, and having the colour greenish, bordered with brown. It is probably the "asp" [ἀσπίς ( aspis )] of the New Testament (Rom. iii. 13), and the "asp ]פָּחָן ) pethen )] of the Old (Deut. xxxii. 33; Job xx. 14, 16; Isa, xi. 8). IMG:content-0801.png:[ocr errors] IMG:content-0802.png:[blocks in formation] spots. Its poison is severe. It is common in Sweden and some other parts of Europe. 3. ( Poetically ): Any venomous serpent. Describing the Laocoon, Byron says:the enormous asp 44 Enforces pang on pang, and stifles gasp on gasp." Byron: Childe Harold's Pilgrimage , iv. 160.