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all·spice

(ôlspīs′)

1. An evergreen tree (Pimenta dioica) native to the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America, having opposite, simple leaves and white flowers clustered in cymes.

2. The dried, nearly ripe berries of this plant, used as a spice. In both senses also called pimento.

[Early Modern English, so called because it was considered to combine the aromas and flavors of spices commonly used in Europe before the colonization of the Americas, especially cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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