n.
Pronunciation: ' pe-p ə r
Function: 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