chile de arbol

History and Etymology for chile de arbol

borrowed from Spanish chile de árbol, literally, “tree pepper,” translation of Nahuatl cuauhchīlli

Note: The Nahuatl word was recorded as quauhchilli and translated as “chile de arbol” in Francisco Hernández, Quatro libros de la naturaleza, y virtude de las plantas, y animales que estan recevidos en el uso de medicina en el Nueva España (México, 1615), “Cap. III [del Libro Segundo], Del chilli, o pimienta de las Yndias.” Note that Nahuatl cuahuitl (stem cuauh-) means wood” or “stick” as well as “tree,” so that the original sense of the compound may have been “woody chili,” referring, perhaps, to the pepper’s woody stems.