Etymograph

English

asper

Asper comes from Middle English asper.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asper1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1603asper1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English asper
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “And for ten Aspers you shall daily finde some…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500asperWiktionary, English asper
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1603asperWiktionary, English asper. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “And for ten Aspers you shall daily finde some…”

Today it means

noun Any one of several small coins, circulated around the eastern Mediterranean area from the 12th to 17th centuries.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “asper”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English asper / asper