Capsicums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A variety of fruit belonging to the genus Capsicum, commonly known for its sweet or spicy flavors used in culinary dishes
2. A plant that produces these fruits, often cultivated for culinary, medicinal, or ornamental purposes
3. A collective term for peppers, which can range from mild bell varieties to hot chili types, enjoyed in diverse cuisines worldwide

Etymology: "Capsicums" is simply the plural of "capsicum," so the story belongs to the singular. The name was coined in New Latin, the scholarly Latin used by European botanists from the Renaissance onward, and it draws on a Greek word, "kapsikos," meaning "like a box." The fruit's hollow, box-like body is the likely reason for the name, which fits its hollow interior and the way its seeds sit inside a case. The Greek adjective itself grows from the Latin "capsa," meaning "box" or "case," which is also the source of words such as "case" and "chest" in related forms. So a pepper pod and a jewellery box share a root, separated only by the route the word took through botany and into English.

Synonyms: peppers, chili peppers