capsicum

[ kap-si-kuh m ]

/ ˈkæp sɪ kəm /

noun

any plant of the genus Capsicum, of the nightshade family, as C. annuum, the common pepper of the garden, occurring in many varieties.

the fruit of such a plant or some preparation of it, used as a condiment and intestinal stimulant.

Nearby words

caprylic, caprylic acid, caps., capsaicin, capsian, capsicum, capsid, capsize, capsomere, capstan, capstan bar

Origin of capsicum

1655–65; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin caps(a) case² + -icum, neuter of -icus -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for capsicum

This shrub was heavily charged with capsicum qualities, and at once filled the air with a stifling cayenne odor.
Mal Moule|Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The taste of capsicum is extremely pungent and acrimonious, setting the mouth, as it were, on fire.
A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons|Fredrick Accum
Chillies or capsicum are long roundish taper pods, divided into two or three cells, full of small whitish seeds.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds
We sat down; I, under a mandate growled by Capsicum, at the lower end of the table as Vice.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 416, June 1850|Various

Capsicum's sense of honour would have declined the limes; but the company ruled otherwise.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 66, No. 410, December 1849|Various

British Dictionary definitions for capsicum

capsicum

/ (ˈkæpsɪkəm) /

noun

any tropical American plant of the solanaceous genus Capsicum, such as C. frutescens, having mild or pungent seeds enclosed in a pod-shaped or bell-shaped fruit

the fruit of any of these plants, used as a vegetable or ground to produce a condiment

Word Origin for capsicum

C18: from New Latin, from Latin capsa box, case ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for capsicum

Capsicum

genus of pepper plants, 1660s, of unknown origin, a word said to have been chosen by French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708); perhaps irregularly formed from Latin capsa "box" (see case (n.2)).