Asperity
/əˈspɛr.ɪ.ti/noun
Harshness of tone, manner, or texture; severity.
Did you know?Its root is the same ancient source behind English words like *sparse* and *spare*, showing how one old idea of rough, scattered things spread into very different meanings.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*speh₂-
“to be rough, sparse, or scattered”
Latin
Latin
asper
“rough, coarse, harsh”
Latin
Latin
asperitās
“roughness; harshness”
14th Century
English
asperite
“roughness; severity”
Modern English
English
asperity
“harshness of manner, speech, or conditions”