Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An opaque cryptocrystalline variety of quartz that may be red, yellow, or brown.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Among the ancients, a bright-colored chalcedony (not, however, including carnelian), translucent and varying in color, green being apparently most common. It was highly esteemed as a precious stone.
  • noun In modern usage, a closely compact crypto-crystalline variety of quartz, opaque or nearly so, and colored red, yellow, or brown, or less often green.
  • noun An earthenware made of pounded spar.
  • noun Same as jasper-ware.
  • Same as jasperize.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Min.) An opaque, impure variety of quartz, of red, yellow, and other dull colors, breaking with a smooth surface. It admits of a high polish, and is used for vases, seals, snuff boxes, etc. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called striped jasper or banded jasper. The Egyptian pebble is a brownish yellow jasper.
  • noun a yellow variety of opal resembling jasper.
  • noun a delicate kind of earthenware invented by Josiah Wedgwood. It is usually white, but is capable of receiving color.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun obsolete Any bright-coloured kind of chalcedony apart from cornelian.
  • noun mineralogy An opaque, impure variety of quartz, of red, yellow, and other dull colors, breaking conchoidally with a smooth surface.
  • noun Jasperware pottery.
  • noun UK, colloquial A wasp. (West Country dialects, Somerset County)
  • noun US, slang A person, a guy, especially seen as naïve or simple.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English jaspre, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin iaspis, iaspid-, from Greek iaspis, from Persian yašm, yašb, from Arabic yašb; akin to Hebrew yāšəpe, perhaps from blend of Akkadian yašpu, chalcedony (sense uncertain) and Akkadian ašpû, jasper (perhaps of Sumerian origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French jaspre, a variant of jaspe (modern French jaspe), from Latin iaspis, from Ancient Greek ἴασπις (iaspis), ultimately (via an oriental language) from Persian یشپ (yašp).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the male personal name Jasper.

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Examples

  • Ordinarily, the jasper is a stone of various wavy colors, somewhat transparent: in Re 21: 11 it represents watery crystalline brightness.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • This jasper is a transparent stone, which yet offers to the eye a variety of the most vivid colours, signifying the glorious perfections of God; the sardine-stone is red, signifying the justice of God, that essential attribute of which he never divests himself in favour of any, but gloriously exerts it in the government of the world, and especially of the church, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation) 1721

  • But i don't live in jasper county so i wont get paid.

    Earn $5 a Doe in Illinois 2009

  • But i don't live in jasper county so i wont get paid.

    Earn $5 a Doe in Illinois 2009

  • Wed 10/07/09 5: 44 PM the actor who plays jasper is great at manipulating annie. i sense chemistry and hope he stays on the show for awhile, or comes back. even tehough the previews say he is this big stalker, i am sure that is not the only side of him.

    '90210' recap: Fun with stalking! | EW.com 2009

  • Before an enormous hearth stood a carved table of old oak, laden with golden dishes full of exquisite food, and wonderful fruit in jasper bowls, and dark purple clematis flowers were strewn upon the golden cloth.

    The Lily of Life: A Fairy Tale 1913

  • Feb 3, 2010 i’m so sorry jasper is sick, i hope he starts to feel better really soon. boy, we sure can beat ourselves to death with the ol’ mother-guilt, can’t we? we all have it and we all drag ourselves over the hot coals with the would-have-could-have-should-have.

    About Last Night - Her Bad Mother 2010

  • The jasper is the same crystal gem before mentioned.

    The Revelation Explained 1913

  • The stone which we name "jasper" does not accord with this description.

    Smith's Bible Dictionary 1884

  • The word 'jasper' is derived from the Semitic languages; and from the confused description of Theophrastus

    COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 Alexander von Humboldt 1814

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