| 1. | a pungent condiment obtained from various plants of the genus Piper, esp. from the dried berries, used whole or ground, of the tropical climbing shrub P. nigrum. |
| 2. | any plant of the genus Piper. Compare pepper family. |
| 3. | any of several plants of the genus Capsicum, esp. C. annuum, cultivated in many varieties, or C. frutescens. |
| 4. | the usually green or red fruit of any of these plants, ranging from mild to very pungent in flavor. |
| 5. | the pungent seeds of several varieties of C. annuum or C. frutescens, used ground or whole as a condiment. |
| 6. | Baseball. pepper game. |
| 7. | to season with or as if with pepper. |
| 8. | to sprinkle or cover, as if with pepper; dot. |
| 9. | to sprinkle like pepper. |
| 10. | to hit with rapidly repeated short jabs. |
| 11. | to pelt with or as if with shot or missiles: They peppered the speaker with hard questions. |
| 12. | to discharge (shot or missiles) at something. |

pep·per (pěp'ər) n.
[Middle English peper, from Old English pipor, from Latin piper, from Greek peperi, of Indic origin; akin to Prakrit pipparī, from Sanskrit pippalī, from pippalam, pipal.] |
Pepper language
A variant of POP-11 by Chris Dollin
(2002-05-26)
pepper
(Capsicum), any of a great number of plants of the nightshade family, Solanaceae, notably Capsicum annuum, C. frutescens, and C. boccatum, extensively cultivated throughout tropical Asia and equatorial America for their edible, pungent fruits. Peppers, which have been found in prehistoric remains in Peru, were widely grown in Central and South America in pre-Columbian times. Pepper seeds were carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread rapidly throughout Europe.
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