A small, hot pepper plant or the spicy red pepper it produces, often used in cooking.
From Nahuatl 'chilli,' the language of the Aztecs. The word traveled to Europe through Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century and spread globally, making it one of the world's oldest tracked food words.
The capsaicin in chilli peppers that makes them hot doesn't actually burn your mouth—it tricks your pain receptors into thinking there's heat, and interestingly, this same compound is now used in pain-relief creams, so the thing that hurts can also heal.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.