aspen 
the usual form in poetry, and is also common 
in prose.] 
His hand did quake 
And tremble like a leafe of Aspin greene. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. ix. 51. 
Only the pattering aspen 
Made a sound of growing rain. 
Lowell, Singing Leaves. 
asperH (as'per), . [< ME. aspre, aspere, < OF. 
aspre, < L. asper, rough; origin undetermined.] 
Kough; rugged; harsh; cruel; savage. Chaucer. 
All base notes . . . give an asper sound. 
Damn, Nat. Hist., 173. 
asper 1 (as'per), . [Short for L. spiritus asper, 
a translation of Gr. nvtvjm tiaav, rough "breath- 
ing : see spirit and asper*-, a.] In Gr. gram., a 
sign (') placed before or over an initial vowel 
or p to show that it is aspirated, that is, pro- 
nounced as if h preceded it ; the rough breath- 
ing. Thus, of = has; pk = hris. [In Latin, and 
hence in modern, words derived from the Greek, aspirated 
r is represented by rh, as in rhinoceros, rhythm, the h be- 
ing silent in the modern pronunciation.] 
asper 2 (as'per), n. [= F. aspre = It. aspero, < 
ML. asperus, asprus, asperum, aspriim, < MGr. 
aanpov, prop. neut. of an-poc,, white. In Turk- 
ish this coin is called aqcha, lit. whitish, < aq, 
white, + -cha, -ja, equiv. to E. -ig/jl.] An old 
Egyptian and Turkish silver coin: now only a 
money of account. A piaster is considered equal to 
100 good aspers or 120 current ones. One current asper 
is equal to four ninths of a United States mill. 
Demanded of me, 
For what I valued at so many aspers, 
A thousand ducats. 
Massinyer, The Renegado, i. 3. 
aspera (as'pe-ra), n. [NL., fern, of L. asper, 
rough.] Same as asper-artery. 
asper-artery (as'per-ar"te-ri), n. [< L. aspera 
arteria, or arteria aspera, a tr. of Gr. aprt/pla rpa- 
Xela, lit. rough artery : see asper^, artery, and 
trachea.'] The trachea or windpipe. Cones. 
asperate (as'pe-rat), v. t. [< L. asperatus, pp. 
ofasperare, roughen, < asper, rough: see asper 1 .] 
To make rough or uneven in surface, sound, 
etc. [Bare.] 
The level surface of clear water being by agitation as- 
perated. Boyle, Works, I. 683. 
asperation (as-pe-ra'shou), n. [< asperate + 
-ion.] A making rough. Bailey. 
asperge (as-perj'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. asperged, 
ppr. asperging. [= F. asperger, < L. aspergere, 
sprinkle, < ad, to, + spare/ere, sprinkle: see 
sparse, and cf. asperse.'] To sprinkle. 
Each thing in order, as before, 
His pious hands array, 
Asperge the shrine ; and then once more 
He takes his cheerful way. 
Bulwer, tr. of Schiller's Fridolin. 
aspergeoiret, [OF., also aspergoir (mod. F. 
aspersoir) ; cf. ML. aspergerium ; < L. asperge- 
re, sprinkle: see asperge, and cf. aspergillus.] 
Same as aspersorium, 1. 
asperges (as-per'jez), n. [LL., prop, second 
pers. sing, future ind. of L. aspergere, sprinkle : 
see asperge.] In the Bom. Cath. Ch. : (a) An 
antiphon, taken from the Miserere, intoned by 
the celebrant and sung by the choir before the 
solemn mass on Sundays, during which the 
priest sprinkles with holy water the altar, 
clergy, and people. With some modifications, 
the same rite is practised in the Greek and Ori- 
ental churches, (o) The sprinkling performed 
by the priest during the antiphon. 
aspergill (as'per-jil), n. [< ML. aspergillus, 
q. v. J Same as aspersorium, 1. 
aspergilla, n. Plural of aspergillum. 
aspergilli, . Plural of aspergillus. 
aspergilliforni (as-per-jil'i-form), a. [< ML. 
aspergillus, q. v., + L. forma, shape.] 1. 
Shaped like an aspergillus or sprinkler. 2. 
In oot., brush-shaped; made up of numerous 
spreading hairs. 
aspergillum (as-per-jil'um), . ; pi. aspergilla 
(-a). [ML. : see aspergillus.] 1. Same as as- 
persorium, 1. 2. leap.] [NL.] A genus of 
mollusks, the watering-pot shells, of a fam- 
ily Aspergillido! : a synonym of Brechites. La- 
marck, 1799. 
aspergillus (as-per-jil'us), n. ; pi. aspergilli (-1). 
[ML. (in sense 1), < L. aspergere, sprinkle (see 
asperge), + dim. -illus.] 1. Same as aspersori- 
um, I. 2. [c<y?.] [NL.] A genus of hyphomy- 
cetous fungi, including several of the common 
molds. Some of the species have been found to be only 
conidial forms of corresponding species of Eurotium, and 
it is probable that the same is true of all. Several have 
been detected in the human ear and in diseased lungs. 
See cut under Eurotium. 
340 
Asperifolise (as"per-i-f o'li-e), n. pi. [NL., fern, 
pi. of asperifolius : see asperifolious.] Same as 
Boraainacea;. 
asperifoliate (as"per-i-fo'li-at), a. [< NL. as- 
perifoliatus, < L. asper, rough, + folium, leaf: 
see asper 1 and foliate.] Having leaves rough 
to the touch. 
asperifolious (as"per-i-f6'li-us), . [< NL. as- 
pcrifolius : see asperifoliate.] Same as asperi- 
foliate. 
asperity (as-per'i-ti), . ; pi. asperities (-tiz). 
[Early mod. E. dsperitie, < ME. asprete, < OF. 
asprete, mod. F. dprete and asperite, < L. />e- 
rita(t-)s, roughness, < osper, rough : see Otpefl.] 
1. Roughness of surface ; unevenness: opposed 
to smoothness. 
The pores and asperities of dry bodies. 
.Bo.yfe, Works, I. 683. 
Four thousand pioneers were sent in advance ... to 
conquer, in some degree, the asperities of the road. 
Irving, Granada, p. 320. 
2. Roughness of sound; harshness of pronun- 
ciation. 
Those dissonances and asperities which still adhered to 
... our diction. T. Warton, Hist, of Eng. Poetry, iii. 62. 
3. Harshness of taste ; sourness. 
The asperity of tartarous salts. Bp. Berkeley, Siris, 86. 
4. Roughness or ruggedness of temper ; crab- 
bedness ; bitterness ; severity : as, to chide one 
with asperity ; ' ' asperity of character," Landor. 
It could only have been the strong political feeling of 
Warton which could have induced him to censure the 
prose of Milton with such asperity. 
I. D' Israeli, Quar. of Auth., p. 261. 
A royalist, . . . without any of that political asperity 
which is as unwomanly as a long beard. 
Maeaulay, Sir William Temple. 
5. Disagreeableness ; unpleasantness ; difficul- 
ty: as, "the acclivities and asperities of duty," 
Barrow, Sermons, III. xlii. 
The allurements of praise and the asperities of censure. 
Sumner, Fame and Glory. 
= Syn. 4. Acrimony, Harshness, etc. See acrimony. 
asperlyt (as'per-li), adv. [Early mod. E. also 
asprely, < ME. asperly; < asper 1 + -ly 2 .] 
Roughly; sharply; vigorously. 
Enforced their enemies to strike on land, and there as- 
saulted them so anprelij. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, i. 17. 
aspermatism (as-per'ma-tizm), . [< Gr. a- 
priv. + airep/ui(T-), seed,"+ -ism.] 1. Absence 
of seminal secretion. 2. The non-emission of 
semen in the sexual orgasm, owing to its re- 
flux into the bladder. 
aspermatOUS (as-per'ma-tus), . Same as 
aspermous. 
aspermous (as-per'mus), a. [< NL. aspermus, 
< Gr. aairep/jof, seedless, < a- priv. + axip/ia, seed : 
see sperm.] In oot., destitute of seed. 
aspernationt (as-per-na'shon), n. [< L. asper- 
natio(n-), < aspernari, pp. aspernatus, disdain, 
spurn, neglect, < ab, from, + spernari, despise, 
spurn.] 1. A despising, etc. Bailey, 1731. 
2. Neglect; disregard. Johnson. 
aspemesst, n. [ME. asprentsse; < asper 1 + 
-ness.] Harshness; severity. Chaucer. 
asperoust (as'per-us), o. [< L. asper, rough 
(see asper 1 ), + -ous.] Rough to the touch; un- 
even; harsh; severe. 
asperse (as-pers'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. aspersed, 
ppr. aspersing. [<L. aspersus, pp. of aspergere, 
besprinkle, bespatter : see asperge.] 1. To be- 
sprinkle ; scatter over. 
Asperse and sprinkle the attendants. 
J. Heath, Flagellum, p. 159. 
The mourners returning from a Roman funeral, aspersed 
with water and stepping over fire, were by this double pro- 
cess made pure. E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, II. 398. 
2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and 
injurious charges ; tarnish in point of reputa- 
tion or good name ; slander; calumniate. 
With blackest crimes aspersed. Coivper, Iliad, vi. 
What perplexed us most, was to think who could be so 
base as to asperse the character of a family so harmless as 
ours. Goldsmith, Vicar, xiv. 
= Syu. 2. Asperse, Defame, Calumniate, Slander, Malign, 
Traduce, Libel, Vilify, decry, depreciate, disparage, slur, 
run down, lampoon, blacken. These words are all descrip- 
tive of attempts to injure reputation by false statements. 
They all apply primarily and chiefly to persons. There is 
often little or no difference between them. Asperse is, 
literally, to bespatter, as with mud or dirt ; it sometimes 
implies injury to reputation by indirect insinuation. De- 
fame is, literally, to lower the fame or repute of, to bring 
toward infamy, to make charges that are more open and 
weighty than aspersions. Calumniate, slander, and ma- 
lign represent the most deliberate and deadly assaults 
upon reputation. The calumniator is most often the in- 
ventor of the falsehoods he circulates. The slanderer is 
less inventive and more secret, his work being generally 
behind the back of the injured person. The maligner is 
most mischievous, malicious, or malign in his motives. 
To traduce is to misrepresent, to show in an odious light. 
asphalt 
Libel and slander are the words most used in speaking of 
injury to reputation in its relation to the possible recov- 
ery of damages at law. To libel, therefore, often suggests 
the pecuniary loss by defamation ; libel is strictly effected 
by publication, while slander is strictly by word of mouth. 
Vilify is, literally, to make one (seem) vile ; it suggests a 
defamation of the coarser and more abusive sort. See 
decry. 
I am not sure . . . whether I ought not to call you out 
for aspernimj the honour of the family. 
Barliain, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 35. 
Whenever you would ruin a person or a government, 
you must begin by spreading calumnies to defame, them. 
Quoted by /. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit., II. 75. 
One trade or art, even those that should be the most 
liberal, make it their business to disdain and calumniate 
another. Bp. Sprat. 
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou 
slanderest thine own mother's son. Ps. 1. 20. 
You malign our senators, for that 
They are not such as you. Shak., Cor., i. 1. 
If I am 
Tradue'd by ignorant tongues, . . . 
'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake 
That virtue must go through. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 2. 
His [Dr. Keudrick's] virulent attack on Johnson's Shake- 
speare may be preserved for its total want of literary de- 
cency. ... He libelled all the genius of the age, and was 
proud of doing it. /. D' Israeli, Cal. of Auth., p. 217. 
When I find the first of men, in rank and genius, hating 
one another, and becoming slanderers and liars in order to 
lower and vilify an opponent, ... I look back in vain on 
any barbarous people for more barbarism. 
Landor, Peter the Great and Alexis. 
aspersed (as-persf), p. a. In her., same as 
seme. 
asperser (as-per'ser), . 1. An aspersorium. 
2. One who asperses or vilifies another. 
aspersion (as-per'shon), n. [= F. aspersion, < 
L. aspersio(n-), a besprinkling, < aspergere, be- 
sprinkle: see asperse, asperge.] 1. A sprin- 
kling, as of or with water. 
No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall 
To make this contract grow. Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 
To season a surly discourse with a more pleasing asper- 
sion of love matters. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 424. 
Ximenes, unable to administer the rite to each individ- 
ually, was obliged to adopt the expedient familiar to the 
Christian missionaries, of christening them en masse by 
aspersion ; scattering the consecrated drops from a mop, 
or hyssop, as it was called, which he twirled over the 
heads of the multitude. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 6. 
2. The making of calumnious reports, imputa- 
tions, or charges; a derogatory assertion or 
criticism; calumny; censure. 
There, sir, an attack upon my language ! what do you 
think of that'; an aspersion upon my parts of speech ! 
Sheridan, The Rivals, iii. 3. 
Every candid critic would be ashamed to cast wholesale 
tmperxionx on the entire body of professional teachers. 
Grate , Hist. Greece, II. 67. 
aspersive (as-per'siv), . [< asperse + -ive.] 
Tending to asperse ; defamatory ; calumnious ; 
slanderous. 
aspersively (as-per'siv-li), arfc. In an asper- 
sive manner; by way of aspersion. 
aspersoir (as-per-swor'), n. [F., < ML. asper- 
sorium.] Same as aspersorium. 
aspersorium(as-per-s6'ri-um), .; pi. aspersoria 
(-a). [ML.,< L. aspergere, pp. aspersus, besprin- 
kle: see asperse.] 1. A brush, 
or oftener a metallic instru- 
ment, used by the priest in Ro- 
man Catholic churches for 
sprinkling holy water. Also 
called aspergillus, aspergillum, 
axpergill. 2. A holy-water 
stoup or font. Parker, Concise 
Glossary. [Not in common 
Aspersonuln. -nr- j ji Si- i 
Middle Latin use.] 
aspersory (as-per'so-ri), n. [< asperse + -ory. 
Cf. aspersorium.] Tending to asperse; defama- 
tory. 
asphalt (as'falt or as-falt'), n. [Also written 
as F., asphalte, and asNL., asplialtmn, formerly 
also asphaltus, -os, -a, and as It., aspalto; in 
ME. spelled aspalt, once aspaltoun; < OF. *as- 
palt = Pr. asphalt = Sp. asfalto = It. aspalto, 
asfalto, < Gr. aa^a'Arof, asphalt, bitumen ; a word 
of undetermined foreign origin.] 1. Same as 
asphaltum. 2. A bituminous material, em- 
ployed lor the covering of roofs and arches, for 
the lining of tanks, for pavement and flooring, 
and as a cement. See asphaltum. in the United 
States the substance so named is commonly made of refuse 
tar from gas-houses, mixed with slaked lime and gravel. 
Also called asphaltic cement. 
3. A thick solution of the finest asphaltum in 
spirits of turpentine, used by opticians. It is used 
for making cells on pieces of glass, ill which objects may be 
preserved in liquid, for examination with the microscope. 
Asphalt-furnace, a portable furnace in which asphalt 
cement is heated for use in roofing, paving, etc. Asphalt 
stone, asphalt rock. Sec asphaltum. Asphalt tiling, 
a mosaic of china or glass bedded in asphalt, and made in 
the form of flooring-tiles. Asphalt Varnish, a black var- 
