Main Entry: ¹pep·per

Pronunciation: \ˈpe-pər\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English peper, from Old English pipor, from Latin piper, from Greek peperi

Date: before 12th century

1 a : either of two pungent products from the fruit of an Indian plant (Piper nigrum) that are used chiefly as condiments: (1) : black pepper (2) : white pepper b : any of several products similar to pepper that are obtained from plants of the same genus <cubeb pepper> c : any of various pungent condiments of plants unrelated to the pepper <Szechuan pepper>
2 : any of a genus (Piper of the family Piperaceae, the pepper family) of tropical mostly jointed climbing shrubs with aromatic leaves; especially : a woody vine (P. nigrum) with spicate flowers that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its red berries from which black pepper and white pepper are prepared
3 a : capsicum 1a; especially : a New World capsicum (Capsicum annuum) whose fruits are hot peppers or sweet peppers b : the hollow fruit of a pepper that is usually red or yellow when ripe

— pepper adjective