grain of paradise

[greyn uhv par-uh-dahys, -dahyz]

noun

1. Usually grains of paradise one of the pungent, peppery seeds of an African plant, Aframomum melegueta, of the ginger family, used to strengthen cordials and in veterinary medicine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grain of paradise¹

First recorded in 1490–1500

Example Sentences

The grain of Paradise of commerce is, like that of the East Indian cardamom, enclosed in a fibrous capsule, and the numerous grains in it are surrounded by a pulp having a most pleasant, astringent, aromatic taste.

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I assure you that every minute that I spent in bed after seven o'clock was to me a grain of Paradise, a moment of delight.

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Lying in that heavenly sunshine, with fruit-laden boughs within reach and heaps of gold beside them if they should wish for it, they could laugh at Vesuvius licking in vain with its fiery tongue toward them, and at the black clouds heavy with hail that would spread ruin over the fields far away from these celestial vineyards and the waving grain of Paradise.

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