pepper

Signification

Noun

1. A plant of the family Piperaceae.
2. A spice prepared from the fermented, dried, unripe berries of this plant.
3. A fruit of the capsicum plant: red, green, yellow or white, hollow and containing seeds, and in very spicy and mild varieties.
4. A game used by baseball players to warm up where fielders standing close to a batter rapidly return the batted ball to be hit again
5. A randomly-generated value that is added to another value (such as a password) prior to hashing. Unlike a salt, a new one is generated for each value and it is held separately from the value.
6. (slang) A beating; a thrashing.
7. (slang) A shotgun.

Verb

1. To add pepper to.
2. To strike with something made up of small particles.
3. To cover with lots of (something made up of small things).
4. To add (something) at frequent intervals.
5. (slang) To beat or thrash.
6. (slang) To shoot (upon) with the dotty.

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/ˈpɛpə/

Étymologie

From Middle English peper, piper, from Old English piper, from Proto-West Germanic *pipar, from Latin piper, from an Indo-Aryan source; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). The name was given to the capsicum fruit because of its unusual spicy taste, not unlike the Old World spice. Cognate with Scots pepar, Saterland Frisian Pieper, West Frisian piper, Dutch peper, German Low German Peper, German Pfeffer, Danish peber, Swedish peppar, Icelandic pipar. Doublet of falafel and peepul.