an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
"The jeweler carefully cut the rough piece of jasper into a smooth cabochon to be set in a silver ring."
Any bright-coloured kind of chalcedony apart from cornelian.
"The jasper stung my ankle as it flew past the garden gate."
A wasp.
In plain English: Jasper is an opaque variety of quartz that comes in many colors and was once used to make carved beads and ornaments.
"The child picked up a smooth piece of jasper from the riverbed to add to his collection."
Usage: Jasper is an opaque variety of quartz that typically displays vivid reds, yellows, and greens rather than the translucent appearance of other stones like agate. While often used in jewelry and decorative objects for its bright colors, do not confuse it with cornelian, which shares a similar mineral composition but differs specifically by being transparent or semi-transparent.
To decorate with, or as if with, jasper.
"The ancient vase was inlaid with bands of red and white stone to imitate a surface decorated with jasper."
In plain English: To jasper means to cheat someone by giving them something fake instead of what they paid for.
"The children jaspered over the broken toy with their small hands."
A male given name from Old Persian.
"Jasper celebrated his tenth birthday as a boy named after his grandfather's old family tradition."
The word "jasper" entered Middle English via the Old French jaspre, which was itself borrowed from the Latin iaspis. This term originally referred to a specific type of gemstone known in Ancient Greece as íaspis before traveling through France and England.