Adjacent Words

Pepper definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PEP'PER, n. [L. piper.] A plant and its seed or grain, of the genus Piper. The stem of the plant is a vine requiring a prop, which is usually a tree. The leaves are oval and the flower white. We have three kinds of pepper,the black,the white, and the long. The black pepper is the produce of Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, and other Asiatic countries; The white pepper is the black pepper decorticated; the long pepper is the fruit of a different species, also from the E. Indies. It consists of numerous grains attached to a common footstalk. Pepper has a strong aromatic smell and a pungent taste.
PEP'PER, v.t. To sprinkle with pepper.
1. To beat; to pelt with shot; to mangle with blows.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: climber having dark red berries (peppercorns) when fully ripe; southern India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in northern Burma and Assam [syn: pepper, common pepper, black pepper, white pepper, Madagascar pepper, Piper nigrum]
2: any of various tropical plants of the genus Capsicum bearing peppers [syn: capsicum, pepper, capsicum pepper plant]
3: pungent seasoning from the berry of the common pepper plant of East India; use whole or ground [syn: pepper, peppercorn]
4: sweet and hot varieties of fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum v
1: add pepper to; "pepper the soup"
2: attack and bombard with or as if with missiles; "pelt the speaker with questions" [syn: pepper, pelt]

Merriam Webster's

I. 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 II. transitive verb (peppered; peppering) Date: circa 1500 1. to hit with or as if with rapid repeated blows 2. a. to sprinkle or season with pepper b. to shower with or as if with shot or other missiles 3. to sprinkle or cover as if with pepper <peppered the report with statistics> <a face peppered with freckles> • pepperer noun III. noun Etymology: probably from ²pep + ²-er Date: 1943 a baseball practice or warm-up game in which usually several fielders toss the ball a short distance to a single batter who hits it back

Britannica Concise

Any of many plants in the genus Capsicum of the nightshade family, notably C. annuum, C. frutescens, and C. boccatum, native to Central and S. America and cultivated extensively throughout tropical Asia and the equatorial New World for their edible, pungent fruits. Red, green, and yellow mild bell or sweet peppers, rich in vitamins A and C, are used in seasoning and as a vegetable food. The pungency of hot peppers, incl. tabasco, chili, and cayenne peppers, comes from the compound capsaicin in the internal partitions of the fruit. The spice black pepper comes from an unrelated plant.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a hot aromatic condiment from the dried berries of certain plants used whole or ground. b any climbing vine of the genus Piper, esp. P. nigrum, yielding these berries. 2 anything hot or pungent. 3 a any plant of the genus Capsicum, esp. C. annuum. b the fruit of this used esp. as a vegetable or salad ingredient. 4 = CAYENNE. --v.tr. 1 sprinkle or treat with or as if with pepper. 2 a pelt with missiles. b hurl abuse etc. at. 3 punish severely. Phrases and idioms: black pepper the unripe ground or whole berries of Piper nigrum as a condiment. green pepper the unripe fruit of Capsicum annuum. pepper-mill a device for grinding pepper by hand. pepper-pot 1 a small container with a perforated lid for sprinkling pepper. 2 a W. Indian dish of meat etc. stewed with cayenne pepper. 3 colloq. a Jamaican. red (or yellow) pepper the ripe fruit of Capsicum annuum. sweet pepper a pepper with a relatively mild taste. white pepper the ripe or husked ground or whole berries of Piper nigrum as a condiment. Etymology: OE piper, pipor f. L piper f. Gk peperi f. Skr. pippali- berry, peppercorn

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pepper Pep"per, n. [OE. peper, AS. pipor, L. piper, fr. Gr. ?, ?, akin to Skr. pippala, pippali.] 1. A well-known, pungently aromatic condiment, the dried berry, either whole or powdered, of the Piper nigrum. Note: Common, or black, pepper is made from the whole berry, dried just before maturity; white pepper is made from the ripe berry after the outer skin has been removed by maceration and friction. It has less of the peculiar properties of the plant than the black pepper. Pepper is used in medicine as a carminative stimulant. 2. (Bot.) The plant which yields pepper, an East Indian woody climber (Piper nigrum), with ovate leaves and apetalous flowers in spikes opposite the leaves. The berries are red when ripe. Also, by extension, any one of the several hundred species of the genus Piper, widely dispersed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the earth. 3. Any plant of the genus Capsicum, and its fruit; red pepper; as, the bell pepper. Note: The term pepper has been extended to various other fruits and plants, more or less closely resembling the true pepper, esp. to the common varieties of Capsicum. See Capsicum, and the Phrases, below. African pepper, the Guinea pepper. See under Guinea. Cayenne pepper. See under Cayenne. Chinese pepper, the spicy berries of the Xanthoxylum piperitum, a species of prickly ash found in China and Japan. Guinea pepper. See under Guinea, and Capsicum. Jamaica pepper. See Allspice. Long pepper. (a) The spike of berries of Piper longum, an East Indian shrub. (b) The root of Piper, or Macropiper, methysticum. See Kava. Malaguetta, or Meleguetta, pepper, the aromatic seeds of the Amomum Melegueta, an African plant of the Ginger family. They are sometimes used to flavor beer, etc., under the name of grains of Paradise. Red pepper. See Capsicum. Sweet pepper bush (Bot.), an American shrub (Clethra alnifolia), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; -- called also white alder. Pepper box or caster, a small box or bottle, with a perforated lid, used for sprinkling ground pepper on food, etc. Pepper corn. See in the Vocabulary. Pepper elder (Bot.), a West Indian name of several plants of the Pepper family, species of Piper and Peperomia. Pepper moth (Zo["o]l.), a European moth (Biston betularia) having white wings covered with small black specks. Pepper pot, a mucilaginous soup or stew of vegetables and cassareep, much esteemed in the West Indies. Pepper root. (Bot.). See Coralwort. pepper sauce, a condiment for the table, made of small red peppers steeped in vinegar. Pepper tree (Bot.), an aromatic tree (Drimys axillaris) of the Magnolia family, common in New Zealand. See Peruvian mastic tree, under Mastic.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pepper Pep"per, n. [OE. peper, AS. pipor, L. piper, fr. Gr. ?, ?, akin to Skr. pippala, pippali.] 1. A well-known, pungently aromatic condiment, the dried berry, either whole or powdered, of the Piper nigrum. Note: Common, or black, pepper is made from the whole berry, dried just before maturity; white pepper is made from the ripe berry after the outer skin has been removed by maceration and friction. It has less of the peculiar properties of the plant than the black pepper. Pepper is used in medicine as a carminative stimulant. 2. (Bot.) The plant which yields pepper, an East Indian woody climber (Piper nigrum), with ovate leaves and apetalous flowers in spikes opposite the leaves. The berries are red when ripe. Also, by extension, any one of the several hundred species of the genus Piper, widely dispersed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the earth. 3. Any plant of the genus Capsicum, and its fruit; red pepper; as, the bell pepper. Note: The term pepper has been extended to various other fruits and plants, more or less closely resembling the true pepper, esp. to the common varieties of Capsicum. See Capsicum, and the Phrases, below. African pepper, the Guinea pepper. See under Guinea. Cayenne pepper. See under Cayenne. Chinese pepper, the spicy berries of the Xanthoxylum piperitum, a species of prickly ash found in China and Japan. Guinea pepper. See under Guinea, and Capsicum. Jamaica pepper. See Allspice. Long pepper. (a) The spike of berries of Piper longum, an East Indian shrub. (b) The root of Piper, or Macropiper, methysticum. See Kava. Malaguetta, or Meleguetta, pepper, the aromatic seeds of the Amomum Melegueta, an African plant of the Ginger family. They are sometimes used to flavor beer, etc., under the name of grains of Paradise. Red pepper. See Capsicum. Sweet pepper bush (Bot.), an American shrub (Clethra alnifolia), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; -- called also white alder. Pepper box or caster, a small box or bottle, with a perforated lid, used for sprinkling ground pepper on food, etc. Pepper corn. See in the Vocabulary. Pepper elder (Bot.), a West Indian name of several plants of the Pepper family, species of Piper and Peperomia. Pepper moth (Zo["o]l.), a European moth (Biston betularia) having white wings covered with small black specks. Pepper pot, a mucilaginous soup or stew of vegetables and cassareep, much esteemed in the West Indies. Pepper root. (Bot.). See Coralwort. pepper sauce, a condiment for the table, made of small red peppers steeped in vinegar. Pepper tree (Bot.), an aromatic tree (Drimys axillaris) of the Magnolia family, common in New Zealand. See Peruvian mastic tree, under Mastic.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pepper Pep"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peppered; p. pr. & vb. n. Peppering.] 1. To sprinkle or season with pepper. 2. Figuratively: To shower shot or other missiles, or blows, upon; to pelt; to fill with shot, or cover with bruises or wounds. ``I have peppered two of them.'' ``I am peppered, I warrant, for this world.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pepper Pep"per, v. i. To fire numerous shots (at).

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(peppers, peppering, peppered) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Pepper is a hot-tasting spice which is used to flavour food. Season with salt and pepper. ...freshly ground black pepper. N-UNCOUNT 2. A pepper, or in American English a bell pepper, is a hollow green, red, or yellow vegetable with seeds inside it. N-COUNT 3. If something is peppered with small objects, a lot of those objects hit it. He was wounded in both legs and severely peppered with shrapnel... VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n 4. If something is peppered with things, it has a lot of those things in it or on it. While her English was correct, it was peppered with French phrases... Yachts peppered the tranquil waters of Botafogo Bay. VERB: be V-ed with n, V n

Moby Thesaurus

Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, aggressiveness, aim at, allspice, anchovies, angelica, applesauce, band, bang, bar, barrage, basil, bell pepper, bespangle, bespeckle, bespot, besprinkle, black pepper, blast, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, blitz, blotch, bombard, borage, brand, bread, burnet, cannon, cannonade, caper, capsicum, caraway seeds, cardamom, catsup, celery salt, chalk, chalk up, charge, check, check off, checker, chervil, chili, chili sauce, chili vinegar, chives, chutney, cicatrize, cinnamon, cloves, cock, commence firing, condiments, coriander, cranberry sauce, crumb, cubeb, cumin, curry, dahl sauce, dapple, dash, define, delimit, demarcate, detonate, dill, dillseed, discharge, discolor, dot, dredge, drive, drop, duck sauce, dust, eject, enfilade, engrave, enterprise, fagara, fell, fennel, file, fire, fire a volley, fire at, fire off, fire upon, five spice powder, flake, flavor, fleck, flour, freckle, fusillade, garlic, garlic butter, garlic powder, garlic salt, gash, get-up-and-go, ginger, green pepper, gun, gun for, harlequin, hatch, hedge garlic, hit, horseradish, hyssop, impress, imprint, initiative, iris, kick, leek, let fly, let off, line, load, mace, maculate, make a mark, marble, marbleize, marinade, marjoram, mark, mark off, mark out, mayonnaise, mint, mortar, motley, mottle, mustard, nick, notch, nutmeg, onion, onion salt, open fire, open up on, oregano, paprika, parsley, pelt, pencil, pep, peppercorn, peppermint, piccalilli, pick off, pickle, pimento, pimpernel, piss and vinegar, pistol, pizzazz, plug, point, polychrome, polychromize, poop, pop at, pot, potherb, potshoot, potshot, powder, prick, prime, print, punch, punctuate, puncture, push, radish, rainbow, rake, red pepper, relish, riddle, saffron, sage, salad dressing, salt, sauce, sauce-alone, savor, savory, scar, scarify, scatter, score, scotch, scratch, seal, seam, season, seasoned salt, sesame oil, sesame seeds, shallot, shell, shoot, shoot at, shoot down, snap, snipe, snipe at, soy, soy sauce, spangle, spatter, speck, speckle, spice, splatter, splotch, spot, spray, sprinkle, spunk, stain, stamp, star anise, starch, stigmatize, stipple, strafe, streak, striate, strike, stripe, stud, take a potshot, take aim at, tarragon, tartar sauce, tattoo, tessellate, thrust, thyme, tick, tick off, tomato paste, torpedo, trace, turmeric, underline, underscore, vanilla, variegate, vein, verve, vim, vinegar, white pepper, zero in on, zing, zip