asperity

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English asprete, asperite, from Old French aspreté (modern French âpreté), from Latin asperitātem, the accusative singular of asperitās (“roughness, unevenness; fierceness, severity; harshness, sharpness; acidity, tartness”), from asper (“coarse, rough, uneven; bitter, fierce harsh; rude, unrefined; etc.”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp- (“to cut”)) + -itās (a variant of -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being)). The spelling of the English word is influenced directly by Latin asperitātem. Doublet of asperitas. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈspɛɹɪti/ (General American) IPA(key): /əˈspɛɹɪti/, [-ɾi] Rhymes: -ɛɹɪti Hyphenation: as‧per‧i‧ty === Noun === asperity (countable and uncountable, plural asperities) (formal) (uncountable) The quality of having a rough or uneven surface; roughness, unevenness; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a protruding or rough area or point on a surface; a protrusion. (uncountable): Synonyms: bumpiness, ruggedness (uncountable): Antonym: smoothness (countable): Synonyms: bump, protuberance (countable, geology) A section of a fault line with high friction, such that there is no movement along this part of the fault except during an earthquake. [from 1981] (figurative) (uncountable) The quality of being difficult or unpleasant to experience; (countable) a thing that is harsh and difficult to endure; a difficulty, a hardship. (uncountable): Synonyms: harshness, rigour, severity (uncountable) The quality of being harsh or severe in the way one behaves or speaks toward another person; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a deeply hostile or resentful feeling; an animosity, a hatred. (uncountable): Synonyms: acerbity, harshness, severity, sharpness (uncountable, archaic) Of sound: gratingness, harshness. Of taste: harshness or sharpness; acridity, tartness. Synonym: acrimony Of writing: a lack of elegance and refinement; inelegance, roughness. ==== Derived terms ==== nanoasperity ==== Related terms ==== asperitas asperous exasperate ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === asperity (faults) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia asperity (geotechnical engineering) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia asperity (materials science) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia asperity (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia