Caspic
/ˈkæs.pɪk/noun
A savory jelly containing meat, fish, eggs, or vegetables; an obsolete or variant form of aspic.
Did you know?Caspic is generally treated as a variant of aspic, whose name passed through French from Latin aspis, meaning both “asp” and, in Greek, “shield.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂eḱ-
“A proposed root associated with sharpness or pointedness; its exact relationship to the Greek serpent word is debated.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
aspís
“An asp or viper; also a shield, probably reflecting the shield’s rounded form.”
Classical Latin
Latin
aspis
“Asp, a venomous snake associated in antiquity with Egypt.”
Middle French
Old French
aspic
“Asp; later, a savory meat jelly, through an association with the aspic’s gelled appearance or culinary terminology.”
17th Century
English
aspic
“A savory jelly containing meat, fish, or other ingredients.”
Modern English
English
caspic
“A rare or obsolete variant spelling of aspic, referring to the same kind of savory jelly.”
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