Asp

asp, Aspic , asp′ik, n. a popular name applied loosely to various genera of venomous serpents—now chiefly to the Vipera aspis of Southern Europe. Cleopatra's asp was probably the small Vipera ha el quist i i , or horned viper: the biblical asp (Heb. pethen ) was probably the Egyptian juggler's snake ( Naja haje ). [L.—Gr. aspis .]