(Hebrews pethen), Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 20:14, 16; Isaiah 11:8. It was probably the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), which was very poisonous (Romans 3:13; Gr. aspis). The Egyptians worshipped it as the uraeus, and it was found in the desert and in the fields. The peace and security of Messiah's reign is represented by the figure of a child playing on the hole of the asp. (see ADDER.)

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) Same as Aspen.

2. (n.) A small, hooded, poisonous serpent of Egypt and adjacent countries, whose bite is often fatal. It is the Naja haje. The name is also applied to other poisonous serpents, esp. to Vipera aspis of southern Europe. See Haje.

3. (n.) One of several species of poplar bearing this name, especially the Populus tremula, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.