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 prepared3 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