iaspis

Latin

Alternative forms

• jaspis

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἴασπις (íaspis), ultimately from an unknown oriental, possibly Egyptian, loanword. Cognate of modern Persian یشپ (yašp).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈi̯as.pis/, [ˈi̯äs̠pɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈjas.pis/, [ˈjäspis]

Noun

iaspis f (genitive iaspidis); third declension

1. jasper, a precious stone
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.261–262:

     [...] atque illī stēllātus iaspide fulvā / ēnsis erat [...].

     And [Mercury saw] that [Aeneas’s] sword was starred with tawny jasper [...].

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	iaspis	iaspidēs
Genitive	iaspidis	iaspidum
Dative	iaspidī	iaspidibus
Accusative	iaspidem	iaspidēs
Ablative	iaspide	iaspidibus
Vocative	iaspis	iaspidēs

Derived terms

• iaspideus, jaspideus

Descendants

• Catalan: jaspi
• → Czech: jaspis
• Old French: jaspe, jaspre
  • Middle French: jaspe
    • French: jaspe
  • → Middle English: jaspre, iaspre
    • English: jasper
• → Middle High German: jaspis
  • German: Jaspis
    • → Russian: а́спид (áspid) (slate)
• Italian: iaspide
• → Polish: jaspis
• Portuguese: jaspe
• Old Occitan: jaspi
  • Provençal: jaspi
• → Slovene: jaspis
• Spanish: jaspe

References

• “iaspis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “iaspis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• iaspis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “iaspis”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly