pepper

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɛp.ə/ (UK); /ˈpɛp.ɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English peper, from Old English pipor,^[2][3][4] an early West Germanic borrowing (compare Dutch peper, German Pfeffer) of Latin piper (“pepper”),^[3][5][4] from Greek πέπερι (péperi),^[2][3] probably via Persian from Middle Indic pippari, from Sanskrit पिप्पली (pippalī́, “long pepper; berry”).^[3][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pungent spice, especially black pepper: about 1000.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

Word Origins notes that the Anglo-Saxons adopted the word before they came to England, as it is found in other West Germanic languages.^[7] The plant Piper nigrum is from 1398.^[8] The name was applied in the 16th century to the fruits of the Capsicum family, which are unrelated and native to tropical America.^[3] In Middle English, to have pepper in the nose meant to be supercilious.^[3] The verb, to sprinkle as with pepper, is from the 1610s, and to pelt with shot from the 1640s.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – the spice.^[8]
• 1398 – the pepper plant.^[8]
• 16th century – capsicums.^[3]
• 1610s – to sprinkle (verb).^[3]
• 1640s – to pelt with shot.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A pungent, hot-tasting powder made from dried and ground peppercorns, used as a spice.
2. The climbing plant Piper nigrum, whose berries are peppercorns.
3. A capsicum, especially a sweet pepper or chilli.

Verb

1. To season with pepper.
2. To sprinkle or scatter over; to pelt: peppered with bullets.

Word family

• pepperer
• pepperish
• pepperishly
• pepperbox
• pepperbush
• peppergrass
• peppershaker
• peppershrike

Related words

• peppercorn
• peppermint
• peppery
• pep

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press