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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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• Aspic
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Aspic

(French, from Lat. aspis), an asp or viper found in Egypt whose bite is supposed to cause a swift and easy death, hence poetically a term for any venomous snake. From association, perhaps, with the coldness of the aspic (as in the French proverb, froid comme un aspic), the word is used for a savoury jelly containing meat, fish or eggs, &c. It is also the botanical name of the Lavandula silica, or spikenard, from which a white, aromatic and highly inflammable oil is distilled, called huile 1'aspic.