Pepper \Pep"per\ (p[e^]p"p[~e]r), n. [OE. peper, AS. pipor,
         L.
   piper, fr. Gr. pe`peri, pi`peri, akin to Skr.
         pippala,
   pippali.]
   1. A well-known, pungently
         aromatic condiment, the dried
      berry, either whole or
         powdered, of the Piper
         nigrum.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: {Common
         pepper}, or black
         pepper, is made from the
         whole berry, dried just before maturity; white pepper
         is made from the ripe berry after the outer skin has
         been removed by maceration and friction. It has less of
         the peculiar properties of the plant than the black
         pepper. Pepper is used in medicine as a carminative
         stimulant.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. (Bot.) The plant which yields
         pepper, an East Indian woody
      climber (Piper nigrum), with
         ovate leaves and apetalous
      flowers in spikes opposite
         the leaves. The berries are red
      when ripe. Also, by
         extension, any one of the several
      hundred species of
         the genus Piper, widely
         dispersed
      throughout the
         tropical and subtropical regions of the
      earth.
     
         [1913 Webster]

   3. Any plant of the genus Capsicum
         (of the Solanaceae
 
             family, which are unrelated to
         Piper), and its fruit;
  
            red pepper; chili pepper;
         as, the bell pepper
         and the
      jalapeno pepper (both
         Capsicum annuum)
         and the
      habanero pepper
         (Capsicum
         chinense); . These contain
      varying levels
         of the substance capsaicin
         (C18H27O3N),
     
         which
         gives the peppers their hot taste. The habanero is
     
         about 25-50 times hotter than the jalapeno according to a
 
             scale developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. See also
  
            Capsicum and
         http://www.chili-pepper-plants.com/.
    
          [1913 Webster + PJC]

   Note: The term pepper has been
         extended to various other
         fruits and plants, more or less closely resembling the
         true pepper, esp. to the common varieties of
         Capsicum. See Capsicum, and the Phrases,
         below.
         [1913 Webster]

   African pepper, the Guinea pepper.
         See under Guinea.

  
         Cayenne pepper.
         See under
         Cayenne.

   {Chinese
         pepper}, the spicy berries of the
         Xanthoxylum
         piperitum, a species of prickly ash
         found in China and
      Japan.

   Guinea pepper. See
         under Guinea, and Capsicum.

   {Jamaica
         pepper}. See
         Allspice.

   {Long
         pepper}.
      (a) The spike of
         berries of Piper
         longum, an East Indian
          shrub.
      (b) The root of Piper methysticum (syn.
         Macropiper
         methysticum) of the family Piperaceae. See Kava.
          

   Malaguetta
         pepper, or Meleguetta pepper, the
         aromatic
      seeds of the Amomum Melegueta, an African
         plant of the
      Ginger family. They are sometimes used
         to flavor beer,
      etc., under the name of {grains of
         Paradise}.

   Red
         pepper. See Capsicum.

   {Sweet
         pepper bush} (Bot.), an American shrub ({Clethra
     
         alnifolia}), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; --
   
           called also white
         alder.

   Pepper
         box or {Pepper
         caster}, a small box or bottle, with
      a perforated
         lid, used for sprinkling ground pepper on
      food,
         etc.

   Pepper
         corn. See in the Vocabulary.

  
         Pepper elder
         (Bot.), a West Indian name of several
         plants
      of the Pepper family, species of Piper and
         Peperomia.
      


           Pepper moth
         (Zool.), a European
         moth (Biston
         betularia)
      having white wings covered
         with small black specks.

   Pepper pot, a mucilaginous
         soup or stew of vegetables and
      cassareep, much
         esteemed in the West Indies.

   Pepper root. (Bot.).
         See Coralwort.

  
         pepper sauce, a
         condiment for the
         table, made of small red
      peppers steeped in
         vinegar.

   Pepper
         tree (Bot.), an aromatic tree
         (Drimys
         axillaris)
      of the Magnolia family, common
         in New Zealand. See
      Peruvian mastic tree, under
         Mastic.
      [1913
         Webster]