aspic

Meanings

1. A meat or fish jelly.
2. A dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatine, jelly-like substance made from a meat stock or consommé.
3. An asp, a small venomous snake of Egypt.
4. A light cannon firing a two-pound ball.

1. Aspish; relating to an asp, a small venomous snake of Egypt.

Etymology

Borrowed from French aspic, from Latin aspis, and possibly influenced by French basilic (“basilisk”). The culinary sense may come from association with the snake due to the traditional colors and cold temperature of aspic, in addition to the fact that the gelatin was often molded in a shape similar to a coiled snake.