hasp

/hæsp/

hasp

English Noun

Definition

A clasp, especially a metal strap fastened by a padlock or a pin; also, a hook for fastening a door.

Etymology

From Middle English haspe, hespe, from Old English hæsp, hæpse (“hasp; clasp; fastening”), from Proto-West Germanic *haspijā, from Proto-Germanic *haspijǭ, *hapsijǭ (“hasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kamb- (“to bend; crook”). Cognate with Middle Dutch haspe, Middle Low German haspe, hespe, German Low German Haspel (“spindle of yarn”), German Häspe, Danish haspe, Swedish hasp, Icelandic hespa (“clamp; hasp; skein of yarn”).