Jasps

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Opaque, typically red, yellow or brown variety of quartz used as a gemstone and valued for its polished surface
2. Coloured, opaque mineral form of chalcedony, often banded, prized as an ornamental stone and cut into beads
3. A gemstone made from an opaque, earthy variety of silica, usually reddish or brownish and popular in jewelry and carving

Etymology: "Jasps" is simply the plural of "jasp", a noun for the coloured, opaque, often banded form of chalcedony that lapidaries cut into beads and ornaments. The singular is the older form, and the plural is used when the word refers to several pieces or varieties of the stone. "Jasp" came into Middle English from Old French "jaspe", the word for this same stone. Its ancestry runs back much further than that, to Greek and Latin terms for jasper, which were themselves borrowed from older Semitic and Near Eastern sources, though the exact route is uncertain. What is clear is that the name has always belonged to a stone prized for its colours, which is why the word has stayed attached to it across centuries of use.

Synonyms: jasper