Asper

a. [O. Eng. aspre, Lat. asper, rough.] Rough; rugged. [Obs.] “An asper sound.” Bacon.

n. [Lat. (spiritus) asper, rough breathing.] (Greek Gram.) The rough breathing; a mark (') placed over an initial vowel-sound or over ῾, to show that it is aspirated; i. e., pronounced with h before it; thus ὡς, pronounced hōs, ῥήτωρ, pronounced hrē'tōr.

n. [L. Lat. asperus, asprus, asperum, asprum; M. Gr. ἄσπρον, from ἄσπρος, white. In Turkish this coin is called aqtscheh, i. e., white. See ATSCHE.] A Turkish coin, of which three make a medine. Its value is a little over one cent.