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chile

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word chile

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1540 a document from Mexico More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Classical Nahuatl chīlli
Ultimate origin
Classical Nahuatl chīlli
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Spanish chile
English chili
From the same root
English enchilada ← chile

Pronunciation

  • /ˈt͡ʃile/, [ˈt͡ʃi.le][1]

Forms

chile m (plural chiles)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Classical Nahuatl chīlli (“chili pepper”).[2][3][4][1] Molina's Nahuatl vocabulary of 1571 glosses the Nahuatl word as “ají, or pepper of the Indies”.[5]

The oldest form is chil, in a report by a companion of Cortés of about 1521 that survives in Ramusio's Italian translation; this form also reached Aragon, where Borao records it for “pepper”.[4] The form ending in -e is recorded from about 1570 in Corominas.[4] From Mexico the word passed into American English as chili.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in Boyd-Bowman's Léxico hispanoamericano is from Mexico in 1540: una carga de chile “a load of chili”.[6] López de Gómara in 1554 still wrote the Nahuatl form: their chief food was centli y chilli “maize and chili”.[7]

Semantic evolution

Chile has always been the word of Mexico and Central America;[4] Corominas notes its long rivalry with ají, used in the rest of America, and with Spanish pimienta, and in Cuba both words exist, chile naming one variety.[4] Mexico has many derivatives and compounds, such as enchilar, enchilada, chilaquil and chilmole.[4][3]

The Academy's 1884 dictionary defines it simply as ají.[8] Santamaría records the vulgar sense “penis” in Mexico and a Mexican obscene interjection.[9] García Icazbalceta gives estar hecho un chile “to be furious”, quoting the Periquillo.[10] In Guatemala the plural means lies or tall tales; in Nicaragua and Costa Rica chile is a short funny story.[2][11]

Timeline

  • c. 1521 – chil in the Italian version of a report by a companion of Cortés.[4][5]
  • 1540 – una carga de chile in a document from Mexico.[6]
  • 1554 – López de Gómara writes chilli.[7]
  • 1571 – Molina's Nahuatl vocabulary glosses chilli.[5]
  • c. 1570 – Corominas's first record of the form chile, in Eugenio de Salazar.[4]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary defines chile as ají.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Mexico, Central America) The chili or pepper plant, Capsicum.[2][11][1]
  2. (Mexico, Central America) Its hot fruit, used as a seasoning: Esta salsa lleva tres chiles verdes.[2][12][1]
  3. (Mexico, Central America) A hot sauce made with chili, salt, water and spices.[11]
  4. (vulgar, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico) penis.[2][1]
  5. (Guatemala, colloquial, mostly plural) A lie, a tall tale.[2][13][1]
  6. (Nicaragua, Costa Rica) A short funny story.[11]

Word family

  • enchilar
  • aguachile
  • enchilada
  • ají
  • pimiento
  • English chili

Usage notes

The name of the country, Chile (recorded about 1541), is a separate word of disputed origin, perhaps from Quechua chiri (“cold”).[14][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. chile
  3. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. chile
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 358
  5. ^ a b c Friederici, Georg (1947), Amerikanistisches Wörterbuch, Hamburg: Cram, de Gruyter, p. 174
  6. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. chile
  7. ^ a b Grupo IATEXT, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, AMERLEX: corpus of americanisms in early texts on the Americas (online database), p. s.v. chile
  8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 329
  9. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1942), Diccionario general de americanismos, 3 vols., México: Pedro Robredo, p. 493
  10. ^ García Icazbalceta, Joaquín (1899), Vocabulario de mexicanismos comprobado con ejemplos y comparado con los de otros países hispano-americanos, México: La Europea, p. s.v. chile
  11. ^ a b c d Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. chile
  12. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. chile
  13. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. chile
  14. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. chile

Borrowed into

Descendants

Related etymologies

  • chocolate · also from Classical Nahuatl
  • cacao · also from Classical Nahuatl
  • tomate · also from Classical Nahuatl
  • coyote · also from Classical Nahuatl
Cite this entry

“Chile.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/chile. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·