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• cayenne
  cayenne

  noun

  a hot, biting condiment composed of the ground pods and seeds of the pepper Capsicum annuum longum.
• Cayenne
  Cayenne

  noun

  a seaport in and the capital of French Guiana.

cayenne

¹ American  

[kahy-en, key-, kahy-en] / kaɪˈɛn, keɪ-, ˈkaɪˌɛn /

noun

1. a hot, biting condiment composed of the ground pods and seeds of the pepper Capsicum annuum longum.

2. the long, wrinkled, twisted fruit of this plant.

3. the plant itself.

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Cayenne ² American  

[kahy-en, key-] / kaɪˈɛn, keɪ- /

noun

1. a seaport in and the capital of French Guiana.

2. Also called cayenne whist.  (lowercase) a variety of whist played with two full packs of 52 cards each.

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Cayenne British  

/ keɪˈɛn /

noun

1. the capital of French Guiana, on an island at the mouth of the Cayenne River: French penal settlement from 1854 to 1938. Pop: 50 594 (1999)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cayenned
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cayenne

1750–60; short for cayenne pepper, formerly cayan < Tupi kyinha, but long associated with Cayenne

Explanation

Cayenne is a hot pepper plant. A cayenne is related to a green bell pepper, but it's much spicier. Most cayenne is eaten as a spice — seeds from the plant are dried and ground, then judiciously sprinkled in dishes like chili and Buffalo wings. In its dry form, cayenne is a bright red powder. The word cayennne was mistakenly associated with the capital of French Guiana, Cayenne, though there's actually no relation between the place and the plant. Instead, the root is the Tupi word kyynha.