Everyday LifeGreek → English
Pepper
/ˈpɛpər/noun
A pungent spice ground from dried berries, and by extension the unrelated capsicum fruits.
The Greek roots
πέπερι
péperi
pepper
Literally: “the Indian berry”
Follow a root:πέπερι2 words
The story of the word
The Greek word is itself an import, from Sanskrit pippalī, long pepper, carried west with the trade before Alexander. Latin piper reached Britain early enough to become Old English pipor, so the word arrived with the Romans rather than the Normans. Columbus applied the same name to capsicums in the Caribbean because he was insisting he had reached the Indies, which is why one word now covers two entirely unrelated plants.
- How it travelled
- Sanskrit → Ancient Greek → Latin → Old English
- First recorded
- Old English
Same family
peppercornpeppermintpepperoni
In a sentence
Too much pepper, she said, and ate all of it anyway.