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cap·si·cum

(kăpsĭ-kəm)

1. Any of various tropical American pepper plants of the genus Capsicum, especially any of the numerous cultivated forms of the species C. annuum and C. frutescens.

2. The fruit of any of these plants, especially the dried pungent types used as a condiment and in medicine.

[New Latin Capsicum, genus name, perhaps from Latin capsa, box (from its podlike fruit).]

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:

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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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