peppern.
/ˈpɛpə/, U.S. /ˈpɛpər/ I. The spice or the plant.
1.
a. A hot pungent spice derived from the prepared fruits (peppercorns) of the pepper plant, Piper nigrum (see sense 2a), used from early times to season food, either whole or ground to powder (often in association with salt). Also (locally, chiefly with distinguishing word): a similar spice derived from the fruits of certain other species of the genus Piper; the fruits themselves.The ground spice from Piper nigrum comes in two forms, the more pungent black pepper, produced from black peppercorns, and the milder white pepper, produced from white peppercorns: see black adj. and n. Compounds 1e(a), peppercorn n. 1a, and white adj. and n. Compounds 1g(b)(i).cubeb, mignonette pepper, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > pepper
peppereOE
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. i. 24 Meng pipor wiþ hwit cwudu.
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxxii. 234 Wyrc him sealfe þus wiþ wambe coþum of cwicum swefle & of blacum pipore, & of ele.
OE Ælfric Gram. (Durh.) 44 Piper, pipor [OE St. John's Oxf. pipcer].
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 21 Eftsona nim piper and alewen and sealt..and meng eal togadere.
?a1300 Dame Sirith 279 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 13 (MED) Pepir nou shalt þou eten; Þis mustart shal ben þi mete.
c1330 (?c1300) Reinbrun (Auch.) in J. Zupitza Guy of Warwick (1891) 632 (MED) Gingiuer and galingale..gren de Paris, Pyper, and comyn.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 112 And þere is iij maner of peper alle vpon o tree: Long peper, blak peper, & white peper. The long peper men clepen Sorbotyn... The long peper cometh first whan the lef begynneth to come.
?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 117 (MED) Take betoyne, vervoyne..sawge, and v cornis of pepir.
a1500 (a1451) in Ld. Clermont Wks. J. Fortescue (1869) I. 553 (MED) They brynge all maner of Spycys, as 1 Peper, 2 Grynys, 3 Clowys, [etc.].
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 90v The vertue of all peppers in commun is to heat.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 134 Artichocks of Ierusalem, is a roote vsually eaten with butter, vinegar, and pepper.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1690) 46 Sugar, Tobacco, and Pepper..custom hath now made necessary to all sorts of people.
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. ii. 71 Put common black Pepper, grossly bruised, into any open Vessel.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 223 (note) Pepper was a favourite ingredient of the most expensive Roman cookery.
1820 W. Roxburgh et al. Flora Indica I. 155 The pepper of the female vine [of Piper trioicum] did not ripen properly, but dropped while..immature from the plant, and that when dried it had not so much pungency as common pepper.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 383 Long Pepper is the dried spikes of Chavica Roxburghi (Piper longum).
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea iv. 38 Her advice is much like pepper, I think..excellent in small quantities but rather scorching in her doses.
1954 Life 19 Apr. 81/1 Surrounding lentils, from bottom, are whole black pepper, curry powder, salt, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, whole ginger.
1998 N. Lawson How to Eat (1999) 261 Put the burghal in a serving dish and pour over the lemon juice, 10 tablespoons olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
b. With distinguishing word: any of certain other pungent spices derived from plants of other families, esp. ones used as seasonings.Cayenne, Jamaica pepper, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > pepper not from Piper nigrum
pepper1597
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 293 Ginnie pepper hath the taste of pepper, but not the power or vertue.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §922 It hath beene a Practice to burne a Pepper, they call Ginny-Pepper; Which hath such a strong Spirit, that it prouoketh a Continuall Sneezing, in those that are in the Roome.
1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea xvi. 305 Malagueta, otherwise called Paradise-Grains or Guinea Pepper.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products African Pepper, the fruit of the Xylopia aromatica, which is used as pepper in Sierra Leone, and other parts of Africa.
1914 F. B. Jack Cookery for Every Househ. 631/1 Cayenne.—The name given to a very strong pepper made from the dried pods and seeds of various kinds of capsicums.
1991 Chile Pepper 5 ii. 45 The brown or black seeds are also marketed under the name ‘Sichuan pepper’ or ‘Chinese pepper’ and are highly aromatic with hints of citrus.
2.
a. The plant Piper nigrum (family Piperaceae), a climbing shrub indigenous to South Asia and also cultivated elsewhere in the tropics, which has alternate stalked entire leaves, with pendulous spikes of small green flowers opposite the leaves, succeeded by small berries turning red when ripe. Also more widely: any plant of the genus Piper or the family Piperaceae.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant
pepperOE
pepper plant1611
pepperbush1672
pepper vine1783
OE tr. Wonders of East (Tiber.) §6. 188 On ðam londum byð piperes genihtsumnys.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 242v Whanne þe woodes of peper beþ rype, men..setteþ hem a fuyre and chaseth awey serpentes..and by such brennynge þe greyn of peper..is ymade blak.
c1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Coventry) (1973) 1884 (MED) In alle þe wide worlde noowhere Groweth noo peper but ooneli there.
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Dj Pepper groweth in..Calicut.
1693 T. P. Blount Nat. Hist. 51 Pepper grows best in shady places; that it hath a weak Stem, to be supported like Vines.
1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 382 They do not let the vine, which bears the pepper, twist round a chinkareen tree, as is the custom on Sumatra.
1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 686 Order cxciv. Piperaceæ. The Peppers are confined entirely to the Tropics.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xii. 364 The fruits..closely resemble those of ordinary pepper (Piper nigrum), and are known in commerce as ‘cubebs’.
1997 Observer (Nexis) 23 Nov. (Review section) 7 Pepper is piper nigrum, a ‘woody climber’ which can reach up to 33 ft in length by means of its aerial roots.
b. Usually with distinguishing word: any of numerous plants of other families having hot pungent fruits or leaves which resemble pepper ( 1a) in taste and in some cases are used as a substitute for it.betel-, malagueta, wall pepper, etc.: see the first element. See also water pepper n. 1.
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c1300 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 110 [Eruca] gallice eruk, anglice wyte-pepir.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 415 Stonecrop,..wall pepper, countrey pepper, and Iacke of the butterie.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi vi. §4. 259 Arsmart, or water pepper, groweth almost in every waterish plash.
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Sedum The Wall Pepper is an exceeding sharp acrid plant (from whence it receiv'd the Name of Wall Pepper).
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 322 Poor Man's Pepper, Lepidium.
1836 J. Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. (ed. 2) 136 Xanthoxylaceæ... Nearly all aromatic and pungent. The Fagaras are popularly called Peppers in the countries where they are found.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 105/2 Pepper, Tasmanian, Drimys aromatica.
1904 F. W. Oliver tr. A. Kerner Nat. Hist. Plants (ed. 2) II. 437 (caption) Collective fruit of Betel Pepper (Piper betle).
1965 Austral. Encycl. III. 288/1 Foliage and bark of Australian members [of Drimys] also contain an essential oil with a strong burning taste, hence the local names of pepper-bush, mountain pepper, and native pepper.
2001 Tea & Coffee Trade Jrnl. (Nexis) 20 Apr. 117 The tea grows alongside other crops and plants such as the fiercely hot wild pepper and beautiful Indian honey-suckle.
c. U.S. The California pepper tree, Schinus molle. Cf. pepper tree n. 3.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular tree or plant yielding useful gum or resin > [noun] > of South America or West Indies > Peruvian mastic tree
pepper tree1563
molle1581
Indian mastic1640
pepper1889
peppercorn shrub1901
peppercorn1954
1889 Overland Monthly Dec. 574/1 Of all the trees in California, the pepper is to my mind the most beautiful.
1897 Outing Mar. 582/1 Four magnolias were planted at each cross street, and the inter-spaces filled with peppers.
1974 Amer. Midland Naturalist 92 464 (table) Schinus molle pepper.
1994 S. Owen Indonesian Regional Food & Cookery 69 Along the road, you will see thousands of pepper trees—a few years ago, everyone planted peppers.
3. Any of various forms of capsicum, esp. Capsicum annuum var. annuum. Originally (chiefly with distinguishing word): any variety of the C. annuum Longum group, with elongated fruits having a hot, pungent taste, the source of cayenne, chilli powder, paprika, etc., or of the perennial C. frutescens, the source of Tabasco sauce. Now frequently (more fully sweet pepper): any variety of the C. annuum Grossum group, with large, bell-shaped or apple-shaped, mild-flavoured fruits, usually ripening to red, orange, or yellow and eaten raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Also: the fruit of any of these capsicums.Sweet peppers are often used in their green immature state (more fully green pepper), but some new varieties remain green when ripe.bell-, bird-, cherry-, pod-, red pepper, etc.: see the first element. See also chilli n. 1, pimento n. 2, etc.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > fruits as vegetables > [noun] > capsicum
red pepper1559
pepper1578
cod-pepper1670
capsicum1725
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > fruits as vegetables > capsicum
red pepper1559
Indian pepper1578
pepper1578
cod-pepper1670
capsicum1725
mango1948
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > fruits as vegetables > capsicum > capsicum plants
pepper1578
capsicum1798
cherry-pepper1832
chilli1843
spur pepper1866
pimentón1885
Scotch bonnet1919
Aleppo pepper1920
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. lxix. 634 The Indian Pepper [Du. Peper van Indien, Fr. Poyure d'Inde] hath square stalkes.
1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 621 A long Pepper from Brazil.
1707 H. Sloane Voy. Islands I. 241 Bell Pepper. The fruit is large..somewhat shaped like a bell.
1760 in Rec. Early Hist. Boston 61 Pickled cucumbers & peppers.
1846 W. H. Emory in J. C. Frémont & W. H. Emory Notes Trav. Calif. (1849) 22/2 The first mouthful brought the tears trickling down my cheeks... It was red pepper, stuffed with minced meat.
1858 Texas Almanac 1859 186 The finest white onions and Chili pepper are also raised here.
1911 Grocer's Encycl. 99 There are many species of Capsicum, all native to the warm parts of America... The small fruited types..are best known popularly as ‘Chilies’, and the larger as ‘peppers’.
1949 National Geographic Mag. Aug. 166/2 When we say ‘peppers’ without any qualifying word, we usually mean sweet or nonpungent kinds that are eaten as a vegetable, either cooked or raw in salads.
1972 Y. Lovelock Veg. Bk. iii. 320 Capsicums, or peppers, are the various-sized seedpods of a solanaceous plant, having nothing in common with the true peppers (Piperaceae) except the hot quality of some..of them.
1990 T. Ruprecht Toronto's Many Faces 177 Popular [Hungarian] dishes are..stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, and roast duck.
II. Extended uses.
4. † c. slang. Rough treatment; a severe beating, esp. one inflicted during a boxing match. Cf. Pepper Alley n. at Compounds 2, pepper v. 3. Obsolete.
a. Phrases. to have pepper in the nose: to behave superciliously or contemptuously. to take pepper in the nose, to snuff pepper: to take offence, become angry. Now archaic.
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the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > be haughty or disdainful [verb (intransitive)]
to make it quainta1393
to have pepper in the nosea1400
lord1548
lord1563
to stand (also be, walk, etc.) upon (one's) pantofles1573
cavalier1594
to stand on (or upon) high terms1611
high-hat1922
the mind > emotion > anger > indignation or resentment > be or become resentful [verb (intransitive)]
to pick (also peck) mooda1225
disdaina1382
endeigna1382
indeign1382
risec1390
to take offencea1393
to take pepper in the nose1520
stomach1557
offenda1578
sdeigna1593
huff1598
to snuff pepper1624
check1635
to bear, owe (a person) a grudge1657
to take check1663
to take (‥) umbrage1683
to ride rusty1709
to flame out, up1753
to take a niff1777
niff1841
spleen1885
to put one's shoulder out1886
to have (or get) the spike1890
derry1896
a1400 Prov. Wisdom (Bodl.) 53 in Anglia (1927) 51 222 (MED) Have not pepir in þi nose.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 197 (MED) Þere ar ful proude-herted men, paciente of tonge, And boxome as of berynge, to burgeys and to lordes, And to pore peple han peper in þe nose.
1520 R. Whittington Uulgaria sig. F.iijv Yf ony man offende hym: he maye forth with take peper in the nose and shewe by roughe wordes..yt he is angred.
1583 R. Greene Mamillia i. f. 12v In so much yt as old women are soone angry, she tooke pepper in the nose at the sharpe reply.
1624 R. Davenport City Nightcap iv, in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1875) XIII. 166 Here are some of other cities..that might snuff pepper else.
1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais Wks. (1737) iv. v. 20 Having taken Pepper in the Nose, he was lugging out his Sword.
1993 Evening Standard (Nexis) 26 Aug. 37 They hark back to a golden age, to a type of Scotsman proverbial in the middle ages. ‘Scotus est, piper in naso’. (He is a Scot, he has pepper in his nose.)
b. In other allusive and proverbial contexts, chiefly with reference to the biting, pungent, inflaming, or stimulating qualities of pepper.
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the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [noun] > pungency
peppera1425
tangc1440
mordacity1583
heat1586
saltness1612
piquantness1648
quickness1652
subtilty1661
penetratingness1662
pungency1663
piquancy1664
poignancy1677
mordicancy1693
pertness1756
causticity1772
poignance1782
pungence1810
warmth1816
piquance1867
zinginess1938
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 6028 Ladies shull hem such pepir brewe, If that they fall into her laas, That they for woo mowe seyn ‘allas!’
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. iv. sig. Giiiv Black ynke is as yl meate, as black pepper is good.
a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 128 Thowgh peper be blak, yt hath a good smak.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. iv. 142 Heere's the Challenge, reade it: I warrant there's vinegar and pepper in't. View more context for this quotation
a1732 J. Gay New Song Similes in Poet. Wks. (1784) II. 116 Her wit like pepper bites.
1796 H. L. Piozzi Diary Nov. in K. C. Balderston Thraliana (1942) II. 969 We want more Pepper than this Authour gives, his Characters lie too close to the Level of one's Eye, and his Adventures have in them too little of Adventure.
1847 H. W. Longfellow in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) II. 85 The paper on ‘Nine new Poets’, by the editor, is full of pepper.
1869 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 468 By loading it with slugs..he should be able to give the ‘varmint’ pepper.
1913 Bulletin (San Francisco) 19 Mar. 17/2 Del Howard has put a lot of life and pepper into the Seal herd,..with some additional help behind the bat and in the box.
1966 C. Achebe Man of People vii. 81 If you insult me again I will show you pepper.
1986 A. Rinaldi Time enough for Drums vi. 31 Father was full of pepper in the morning. He put in an hour at the shop before breakfast.
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [noun] > rough or violent treatment
rudessec1415
rudenessc1450
rudeshipc1450
foulnessa1470
roughness1542
pepper1820
pitch-and-tossa1839
stick1942
roughing1960
1820 Sporting Mag. 6 80 Spring..gave the big one pepper at the ropes.
1829 P. Egan Boxiana New Ser. II. 6 In the course of three rounds, the Man of Iron received so much pepper for the affront..that he was glad to beg pardon.
1860 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 12 May 309 The Southern Slasher came up pretty fresh, considering the pepper he had napped.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash I. xiii. 320 Jump, you boys! or you'll catch pepper.
5. Short for pepperpot n. 1a.
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > vessel for sprinkling sugar, pepper, or salt > pepper-pot
pepper-hornlOE
pepperbox1543
pepper castor1676
pepperpot1679
pepper shaker1889
pepperette1893
pepper1897
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 439/1 Silver plated Pepper or Salt.
1966 J. Douglas How to Collect ii. 9 A plain Queen Anne or early Georgian silver pepper can cost you a great deal.
1976 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Nanny Bird ii. 30 He turfed out my things on to the table. The sugar... A miniature pepper and salt. A pack of fruit gums.
1999 A. Arensberg Incubus x. xxvi. 287 I passed back and forth, clearing the salts and peppers, wiping the placemats.
6. colloquial. A rapid rate of turning the rope in a game of skipping. Also: skipping at such a rate.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > skipping > speed
pepper1901
1895 Harper's Mag. Feb. 421/2 He skipped ‘slow-poker’, ‘pepper-salt’, and ‘double Dutch’ in Tompkins Square on Saturdays.]
1901 R. C. Maclagan Games Argyleshire 229 The skipping may be done rapidly or slowly... In Kintyre slow skipping is called ‘salt’; quick skipping, ‘pepper’.
1948 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 61 65 In Pennsylvania the term ‘pepper’ means a very rapid, strenuous rhythm. In most other places it is called ‘hot pepper’ or ‘hot peas’.
1972 F. B. Maynard Raisins & Almonds 56 Sometimes they skipped to the tune..with the spinning rope. (Hazel did pepper faster than anybody I knew).
2000 Ottawa Sun (Nexis) 1 Mar. 7 Controller Barry Wilson getting all tangled and snared in the rope because he can't skip pepper.
7. Baseball. A training exercise or warm-up in which a batter hits a ball pitched at close range by one of a number of other players, one of whom fields the ball and quickly pitches again to the batter. Originally and chiefly attributive, esp. in pepper game.
ΚΠ
1913 Lewiston (Maine) Evening Jrnl. 13 Aug. 6/5 Long before the game started he was..engaged in a ‘pepper game’ for at least half-an-hour.
1950 Sun (Baltimore) 2 Mar. 1 (caption) The New York Yankees..engage in a pepper drill at their St. Petersburg (Fla.) camp.
1980 R. Mayer 1937 Newark Bears vii. 91 True, I fool around with the ball in pepper games, but all that stuff keeps me bending and aids me in keeping in shape.
1990 A. Gordon Safe at Home xviii. 130 The Titans took batting practice and the Tigers played pepper in front of their dugout.
2010 D. Wilson in P. J. Dragseth Eye for Talent 105 He was serious and a hard worker, and the pepper game left him soaked in sweat.
Compounds
C1.
a. † pepper-vend n. Obsolete
pepper field n.
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1905 N.E.D. at Pepper sb. Pepper-field.
1914 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 27 238 The hens laid fewer eggs, the pepper-fields bore less, and the pig grew thin.
2002 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 22 Nov. 20 More than 5,700 acres (2,300 hectares) of pepper fields and citrus groves near Naples, Florida.
pepper grain n.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 242v Þe peper greyne is foul in sight and blak withoute and whyte wiþinne.
?c1450 in Archaeologia (1843) 30 394 (MED) It is good for hed ake x pepyr greynys for to take.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Praise of his Mistress in Compl. Wks. (1907) I. 55 I seeke to wey ye woolsack down, with one poore pepper grain.
1669 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 1028 Ours [sc. our salt grain] is of the size of a Pepper-grain.
1851 Encycl. Americana 117/2 The bush..bears a berry of the size of the pepper-grain or coriander-seed.
1985 Health (Nexis) 17 68 In zero gravity salt or pepper grains would float through the cabin.
pepper plantation n.
ΚΠ
1783 W. Marsden Hist. Sumatra 113 Once a year, a survey of all the pepper plantations is taken by the Company's European servants.
1883 Leisure Hour 204/1 My gharrie-driver took me to see a..pepper-plantation.
2002 Scotsman (Nexis) 9 Feb. 14 We followed a river snaking between forest slopes dotted with pepper plantations.
pepper seed n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant > seed or berry
pepper berry1611
pepper seed1626
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §576 The seeds of Clove-Trees, and Pepper-seeds.
1798 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 88 27 Some quite round and smooth concretions, of the size of black pepper seeds.
1826 J. M. Good Bk. Nature I. xv. 406 Swine are poisoned by pepper-seeds, which to man are a serviceable and grateful spice.
1992 Org. Gardening July 12/1 I soaked the pepper seeds in a strong solution of bat guano.
ΚΠ
1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) II. v. ix. 177/1 They petitioned..that no Pepper might be brought in for three Years into any of her Dominions, the Time of the Pepper-Vend requiring no less.
b.
pepper-coloured adj.
ΚΠ
1612 Edinb. Test. XLVII. f. 146, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Peper Pepper cullorit claytht.
1841 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 11 202 A horizontal bed..of broken decomposed shells..cemented together by a very soft, pepper-coloured sandstone.
1962 I. Murdoch Unofficial Rose x. 99 Mildred..patted her fluffy pepper-coloured hair into place.
2003 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 10 Feb. a13 Tall, with wavy pepper-colored hair, Elizabeth is the wisecracking wife.
C2. † Pepper Alley n. [ < Pepper Alley, the name of a street in Southwark, London, punningly after 4c, pepper v. 3] Boxing slang Obsolete rough treatment; esp. in allusive phrases, as to pay a visit to Pepper Alley: to receive a severe beating; cf. sense 4c, pepper v. 3.† pepper-bird n. Obsolete rare a toucan.† pepperbrand n. (also pepperbrand smut) Obsolete = bunt n.2 2.† pepper crop n. Obsolete rare the plant biting stonecrop, Sedum acre, so called from its pungent taste.† pepper-gingerbread n. Obsolete = pepper cake n.† pepper-nosed adj. Obsolete rare liable to take offence, easily offended or angered; cf. sense 4a.† pepper polk n. [ < pepper n. + poke n.1 (see forms at that entry)] Scottish Obsolete rare a bag for holding pepper.† pepper porridge n. Obsolete porridge flavoured with pepper.† pepper posset n. Obsolete posset flavoured with pepper.† pepper-rent n. Obsolete rare rent paid in pepper; cf. peppercorn rent n. at peppercorn n. and adj. Compounds 2.† pepper-wheat n. Obsolete = purple n. 3c.† pepper worm n. Obsolete a microscopic organism observed in pepper-water (pepper-water n. 1).
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the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (intransitive)] > be injured > be wounded
to let the sun shine through (oneself)1679
Pepper Alley1820
to stop one1901
1820 Sporting Mag. 7 145 His mug, it was chaffed, had paid a visit to ‘pepper alley’.
1821 Sporting Mag. 7 274/2 It was Pepper Alley on both sides, and neither of the contestants appeared anxious to make any stops.
1832 P. Egan Bk. Sports (Farmer) Sam's nob had been in pepper alley, and his upper crust was rather changed.
pepper belly n. U.S. slang (derogatory) a Mexican or Mexican-American person.
ΚΠ
1915 Arms & Man 15 July 307 And tha, rainin' a cloud of dust up the trail, was a young army of pepper-belly sojers.
1948 B. Griffith Amer. Me iii. ii. 286 When I came home to California and got kicked out of a restaurant.., and a little blonde cutie says ‘We don't serve pepperbellies in here’, well, I wanted to tear that place apart.
2001 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 21 Sept. b1 He and his family reunited and settled in Hobbs, a mostly white town in southeast New Mexico. His English was poor. He fought with fellow students who called him ‘pepper belly’ and worse.
pepper berry n. (a) a peppercorn; (also) a capsicum fruit; (b) U.S. a berry of either the California pepper tree, Schinus molle, or the Brazilian pepper tree, S. terebinthifolius, used in decorations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant > seed or berry
pepper berry1611
pepper seed1626
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Poyvre verd Some report that the ordinarie Pepper-berrie gathered while tis greene, and vnripe..is that which we call white Pepper.
1866 W. Reid After War 185 The African cayenne pepper berry was hanging on little bushes.
1881 Manufacturer & Builder Mar. 70/1 Pepper, black and white—the former made from the entire pepper berry, and latter from the same after the external husk is removed.
1938 Hammond (Indiana) Times 25 Mar. 19/1 Many people buy whole pepper berries and grind them as they use them.
1989 M. Stewart Martha Stewart's Christmas vi. 82 Our florist calls these pepper berries, but in its native Brazil, the pepper tree is called the Christmas berry tree.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Rhamphastidae (toucan)
toucan1568
pepper-bird1752
toco1781
toucanet1825
egg-suckerc1865
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 381 The Ramphastos, with a yellow rump. The Pepper-bird.
pepper bottle n. (a) a pepper pot; (b) a bottle for pepper sauce.
ΚΠ
1870 Appletons' Jrnl. 25 June 710/1 She brings forth from her pocket the bottle of wine that we are to drink, the knives, forks, spoons, pepper-bottle, boiled eggs.
1995 Independent (Nexis) 25 July 15 And don't forget a drop of sherry from the pepper bottle!.. It would hardly be a Bloody Mary without a bit of sherry steeped in chilli pepper!
2002 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 21 Aug. 3 d (caption) McCormick's new disposable pepper bottle with a built-in grinder.
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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > various diseases
red rot1798
bunt1800
heart rot1808
yellow rust1808
pepperbrand1842
black spot1847
take-all1865
anthracnose1877
coffee-leaf disease1877
white rot1879
bladder-brand1883
basal rot1896
whitehead1898
black root rot1901
chancre1903
black pod1904
bud-rot1906
frog-eye1906
wildfire1918
pasmo1926
blind-seed disease1939
sharp eyespot1943
1842 Yearbk. Facts in Sci. & Art 208 The Bunt fungus, (Uredo caries) called also Smutballs and pepperbrand.
1875 Amer. Naturalist 9 454 The great majority [of wheat ears] are affected by another and better known disease, bunt or pepperbrand, due also to a minute parasitic fungus (Tilletia caries).
pepper bread n. [compare Middle High German pfefferbrōt, early modern German pfefferbrot gingerbread, German (rare) Pfefferbrot bread flavoured with pepper] †(a) gingerbread (obsolete); (b) a type of bread made with ground or cracked black pepper.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread
gingerbreada1450
dry leach1570
pepper-gingerbread1598
pepper bread1611
gingerbread nut1734
ginger cake1758
ginger nut1786
parkin1800
parliament gingerbread1809
parliament1812
parliament cake1818
parley1825
spice-nut1829
Pfefferkuchen1856
Hoosier cake1859
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Pepáto Ginger or Pepper-bread.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita (1949) I. iii. 59 Jessie and I afterward grinding our corn in the kitchen pepper-mill, and kneading and toasting for ourselves cakes of pepper bread.
1984 Forbes (Nexis) 19 Nov. 23 The pepper bread is delicious.
2003 Charlotte (N. Carolina) Observer (Nexis) 25 July 23 e The sirloin sandwich on pepper bread is filled with soft, grilled onions.
pepper cake n. [after early modern Dutch peper-koeck (in Middle Dutch as peperkoeke; Dutch peperkoek); compare e.g. Middle Low German pēperkōke, German Pfefferkuchen (15th cent. as pfefferkuoche), and similar compounds in other Germanic languages] chiefly English regional (northern) a spicy kind of gingerbread.
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1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Een peper-koeck, a Pepper-cake, or a Spice-cake.
1818 H. J. Todd Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. Pepper-gingerbread, what is now called spice-gingerbread; and in the north pepper-cake.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 377 All comers to the house are invited to partake of the pepper-cake and cheese.
1993 Financial Times (Nexis) 2 Jan. (Cookery section) 9 Old cake recipes like the one which follows are often known as pepper cake, rather than ginger cake.
pepper cress n. (a) garden cress, Lepidium sativum; (also) pepperwort, L. ruderale, and peppergrass, L. virginicum; †(b) , shepherd's cress, Teesdalia nudicaulis (obsolete rare).
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1830 C. S. Rafinesque Med. Flora U.S. II. 237 Lepidium virginicum..Pepper-cress... Eaten as cresses.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 33/1 Cress, Pepper, Teesdalia nudicaulis.
1964 E. Salisbury Weeds & Aliens (ed. 2) x. 279 The partiality for waysides of such plants as Pepper Cress (Lepidium ruderale), Hedge Mustard [etc.].
1991 Martha Stewart Living Spring 62/3 Pepper cress gives a hot, sharp bite to a salad and is best when mixed with milder leaves.
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1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 862/1 Pepper-crop, Sedum acre.
pepper dulse n. the red alga Laurencia pinnatifida, a seaweed with a pungent smell and a peppery taste that was formerly eaten in parts of Scotland.
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the world > plants > particular plants > algae > seaweed > [noun] > others
manatee grass1696
pepper dulse1724
pipeweed1755
sea-beard1777
Iceland sea grass1809
Porphyra1836
nullipore1840
sea-thread1843
niggerhair1852
lucky minnie's lines1853
marine sauce1866
hijiki1951
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > seaweed > [noun]
slawkc1450
henware1682
dulse1698
pepper dulse1724
tangle1724
slokan1758
green laver1762
sloke1777
carrageen1830
Irish moss1830
parengo1844
kombu1884
wakame1950
1724 J. J. Dillenius Ray's Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Brit. (ed. 3) 51 Fucus ramosus piperis sapore Dr. Martin. Pepper-dulse... Common in some Parts of Scotland, where 'tis chew'd.
1849 D. Landsborough Pop. Hist. Brit. Seaweeds 254 It is called pepper-dulse, and it certainly has, especially when young, a very pungent smell and peppery taste.
1972 Y. Lovelock Veg. Bk. i. 209 Pepper dulse (Laurencia pinnatifolia) was once eaten in Scotland but never gained great popularity. The name refers to the fact that it has often (though not always) a hot biting taste.
pepper dust n. the sweepings of warehouses where pepper is stored, formerly used to adulterate black pepper; (also) the siftings of the pepper.
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the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > refuse from spices
garblec1503
pepper dust1844
1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows II. xxi. 57 He..took pepper-dust instead of brown Scotch snuff.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 894/2 Pepper-dust..consists of the sweepings of the floors of warehouses wherein pepper is stored, or of the siftings of the pepper. It is used to mix with genuine ground pepper, also for pickling.
1999 Independent on Sunday 31 Oct. (Review Suppl.) 61/3 Rabbit repellent substances like pepper dust and quassia simply don't work.
pepper elder n. any of several tropical American plants of the family Piperaceae; esp. (a) the West Indian shrub Piper amalago, which is used medicinally and as a substitute for pepper; (b) a plant of the genus Peperomia (cf. Peperomia n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant > plant yielding pepper substitute
pepper tree1745
pepper elder1774
pepperina1930
1774 E. Long Hist. Jamaica III. viii. 721 This plant [small-grained Black-pepper] has generally been confounded with the pepper-elder, whose leaves have seven veins..and which grows more luxuriantly.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Pepper~elder, a species of the pepper tribe,..abundant in Jamaica, the aromatic seeds of which afford a good substitute for the black pepper of the East Indies.
1902 T. W. Sanders Encycl. Gardening (ed. 5) Peperomia (Pepper-Elder)... Stove herbaceous perennials; creeping & erect, orn. foliage.
1981 E. S. Ayensu Medicinal Plants W. Indies 148 Piper amalgo L. joint wood, pepper elder... Uses: Stem and leaves: decoction for flatulence, tonic for blood.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread
gingerbreada1450
dry leach1570
pepper-gingerbread1598
pepper bread1611
gingerbread nut1734
ginger cake1758
ginger nut1786
parkin1800
parliament gingerbread1809
parliament1812
parliament cake1818
parley1825
spice-nut1829
Pfefferkuchen1856
Hoosier cake1859
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 251 And leaue in sooth, And such protest of pepper ginger bread To veluet gards, and Sunday Citizens. View more context for this quotation
1818 H. J. Todd Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. Pepper-gingerbread, what is now called spice-gingerbread; and in the north pepper-cake.
pepper grinder n. †(a) a person who or company which grinds and sells pepper (obsolete); (b) = pepper mill n.
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the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > grinder > for spices
pepper-quernOE
mustard stone1481
spice mortar1560
mustard mill1588
pepper mill1631
pepper grinder1859
spice mill1862
1859 Harper's Mag. Nov. 795/2 Aren't some of these pepper-grinders ruining themselves for your sake?
1882 Times 4 Sept. 12/6 Capital grocery machinery by Waygood, comprising tea mixer, sugar, coffee, and pepper grinders, [etc.].
1988 L. Colwin Home Cooking i. 12 Put one cup of white flour into a paper bag with..three or four twists of the pepper grinder.
pepper-horn n. now historical a vessel for holding pepper.
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > vessel for sprinkling sugar, pepper, or salt > pepper-pot
pepper-hornlOE
pepperbox1543
pepper castor1676
pepperpot1679
pepper shaker1889
pepperette1893
pepper1897
lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) xvii. 455 Man sceal habban..sealtfæt, sticfodder, piperhorn, cyste, [etc.].
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Een peper-huysken, a small Pepper-horne to put spices in.
1973 C. A. Wilson Food & Drink in Brit. viii. 280 A pepper-horn is mentioned as a necessary utensil for an English farmhouse in the eleventh century.
pepper man n. rare a man who sells pepper.
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society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in food and drink > in specific foodstuffs
saltera1000
oilman1275
oysterman1305
pepperer1309
butchera1325
mealman1527
pepper mana1661
butter factor1696
porkman1749
flour-factor1815
macaroni dealer1854
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) xiv. 258 ‘Weigh, weigh!’ cries This badger, this great pepper-man.
2002 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch (Nexis) 5 June d2 You first get to know the [market] vendors in generic terms, such as ‘the coffee lady’, ‘the pepper man’ or ‘the sorbet man’.
pepper mill n. [compare Middle Dutch, Dutch pepermolen , Middle Low German pēpermȫle , German Pfeffermühle (1453 or earlier as pfeffermül ); compare earlier pepper-quern n.] a hand-mill for grinding pepper.
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the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > grinder > for spices
pepper-quernOE
mustard stone1481
spice mortar1560
mustard mill1588
pepper mill1631
pepper grinder1859
spice mill1862
1631 Edinb. Test. LV. f. 165, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Peper, Pepper, -ir Ane pepper mylne [20/-].
1841 Cape of Good Hope Almanac & Ann. Reg. (advt.) Tools of all descriptions... Coffee and Pepper Mills.
1996 Vogue Apr. 337/2 When the Tuscan fries are nearly ready, grind 6 to 8 turnings of the pepper mill over them.
pepper moth n. rare the peppered moth, Biston betularia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Geometridae > biston betularia (peppered moth)
peppered moth1766
pepper moth1864
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Pepper-moth, a moth of the genus Biston, having small spots on the wings resembling grains of pepper.
2002 Scotsman (Nexis) 11 May 6 Creationists were quick to see the debunking of the pepper moth myth as a damning disproof of the evolutionary argument.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > touchiness > [adjective]
stomaching1579
pepper-nosed1580
ticklish1581
touchy1602
sensible1613
touchousa1618
tender1641
tickly1661
indigestive1670
snuffy1678
huffy1680
snuffish1689
sorea1694
mifty1699
resentive1710
sensitive1735
uppish1778
miffish1790
miffy1810
stomachy1825
porcupinish1829
insultable1841
offensible1846
highty-tighty1847
prickly1853
fuffy1858
piquable1860
offendable1864
raw1864
ear-sore1865
uffish1871
porcupiny1890
feisty1896
ticklish-tempered1897
toey1930
1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. O I know some pepernosed dame Will tearme mee foole and sawcie iack.
1645 Char. of Oxf. Incendiary 4 This is the Pepper-nosed Caliph, that snuffes, huffes and puffes Ingratitude at the Parliament.
pepper plant n. any plant yielding pepper (sense 1a) or similar pungent spice, or bearing capsicums.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant
pepperOE
pepper plant1611
pepperbush1672
pepper vine1783
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Poyvrette,..some also call so, the Guinnie Pepper plant.
1790 Encycl. Brit. 767/2 The pepper plant flourishes..on the Malabar coast.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1126 T[asmannia] aromatica... The colonists call it the Pepper-plant, and use its little black pungent fruits as a substitute for pepper.
1991 Traveller Spring 38/3 The drink was a mild narcotic, the active ingredient of which is obtained from the ground roots of the pepper plant Piper methysticum.
pepper pod n. the fruit of a capsicum, esp. Capsicum annuum.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > fruits as vegetables > capsicum > capsicum plants > pod
pepper pod1790
1790 R. Tyler Contrast iii. i. 42 I should like to take a sling with him, or a drap of cyder with a pepper-pod in it.
1844 W. H. Maxwell Wanderings in Highlands & Islands I. v. 118 A senior major, hot as a pepper-pod.
1992 Smithsonian Jan. 45 Narama, the first man, jumped up on a food-laden banquet table; at that moment his testes turned to pepper pods, and he shook the spice onto the plates of others at the feast.
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the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > chest, box, or bag > for salt or spices
powder bag1393
powder poke1496
saffron-bag?a1513
pepper polk1568
1568 Jok & Jynny vii, in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 137 Ane pepper polk maid of a padill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > soup or pottage > porridges > [noun]
polentaOE
papelotec1400
pottagea1500
crowdy-mowdy?a1513
drowsen1519
pease porridge?1548
plum pottage1574
sowens1582
grout1587
orgementa1590
plum porridge1591
loblolly1597
pease pottage1600
girt-brew1620
washbrew1620
lentil-porridge1622
hominy1630
porridgea1643
samp1643
nettle-pottage1659
nettle-porridge1661
crowdie1668
suppawn1670
mush1671
rockahominy1674
stirabouta1691
praiseach1698
sagamité1698
brochan1700
atole1716
burgoo1750
purry1751
fungee1789
pepper porridge1803
kasha1808
mamaliga1808
skilligalee1819
bean-porridge1821
skilly1839
sap porridge1842
corn-mush1846
oatmeal mush1850
pap1858
ugali1860
oatmeal1873
mealie-meal1880
mealie-pap1880
uji1889
sadza1899
nsima1907
putu papa1910
posho1927
putu1949
ogi1957
whey-porridge-
1803 T. G. Fessenden Poet. Petition 92 All piping hot, as pepper-porridge.
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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > hot alcoholic drinks (with milk or eggs) > [noun] > posset
posseta1425
balductumc1450
sack-posset1601
pepper posset1669
treacle-posset1732
brandy-posset1769
powsowdie1825
egg-posset1832
beer-posset1842
1669 H. Stubbe Let. 17 Dec. in R. Boyle Wks. (1772) I. 57 It creates in the throat such a sense, as remains after drinking pepper-posset.
a1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Wks. (1885) XI. 340 A sparing diet did her health assure; Or sick, a pepper posset was her cure.
1854 Harper's Mag. Feb. 296 Stefan's pepper-posset was not quite the specific he had warranted it to be.
pepper-proof adj. †(a) not easily offended or angered (obsolete); †(b) able to resist being attacked or beaten (cf. pepper v. 3) (obsolete); (c) resistant to or unaffected by a pepper spray.
ΚΠ
1655 J. Phillips Satyr against Hypocrites 19 Like a Cathedral down he throws that stuff, Why, Sisters, saith he, I am pepper proof.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 142 I hope, you are Pepper-proof.
1804 G. Huddesford Wiccamical Chaplet 173 Arthur's Knights were hard and rough, And made all over pepper-proof.
1999 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) (Nexis) 7 May a14 The pepper-proof perpetrator seemed like a natural for the ‘hobble’.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > hire or rent > rent (land or real property) > [noun] > paid in produce or livestock > specific
rynmart1433
rynmutton1459
capon1495
mart1520
tack-swine1523
reek hen1540
farm meal1547
reek-poultry1585
reek fowl1592
corn-rate1665
wheat-rent?c1682
nowt-geld1688
farm-dish1713
corn-rent1809
pepper-rent1866
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xxv. 626 The general prevalence of pepper-rents, (the term has survived to our time, but in the altered meaning of a nominal payment)..An obligation laid..upon the tenant to supply his lord with a certain quantity (generally a pound) of pepper at a given day.
pepper rod n. either of two West Indian shrubs of the genus Croton (family Euphorbiaceae), C. humilis and C. wilsonii, used in folk medicine.
ΚΠ
1864 A. H. R. Grisebach Flora Brit. W. Indian Islands 786 Pepper-rod: Croton humilis.
1920 W. Fawcett & A. B. Rendle Flora Jamaica IV. 283 C. humilis... Pepper Rod... Shrub 1–5 ft. high, aromatic.
1981 E. S. Ayensu Medicinal Plants W. Indies 96 Croton wilsonii Gr. pepper rod, Doctor John... Uses: Tea for colds.
pepper root n. (a) the root of a pepper of the genus Piper; esp. that of the Polynesian P. methysticum, used to make kava; (b) U.S. any of several plants of the genus Cardamine (formerly called Dentaria), esp. C. diphylla, whose roots have a pungent taste like watercress.
ΚΠ
1659 Mercurius Politicus No. 592. 824 By the inclosed List, it may be seen, what store of Provision is to be sent hence to Copenhagen, which is bought and stowed in the ships..Pepper Root 4000 l.
1773 J. R. Forster Resol. Jrnl. 7 Oct. iii. 388 They chew a great Quantity of Pepper-root.
1774 W. Wales Jrnl. 26 June in J. Cook Jrnls. (1961) II. 846 They [sc. the Tongans] brought off with them the Yauva, or pepper-Root.
1814 F. Pursh Flora Amer. Septentrionalis II. 439 Dentaria diphylla... The roots of this plant..are used by the natives instead of mustard; in the mountains it is generally known by the name of Pepper-root.
1848 A. Gray Man. Bot. Northern U.S. 34 Dentaria, L. Toothwort. Pepper-root... Perennials with long horizontal and fleshy toothed rootstocks of a pleasant pungent taste.
1915 M. Armstrong & J. J. Thornber Field Bk. Western Wild Flowers 174 Milk Maids, Pepper-root. Dentaria Californica... This is one of the loveliest of the early spring flowers in the Coast Ranges.
2000 San Francisco Examiner (Nexis) 27 Aug. c1 They drank kava, a kind of pepper root tea, pledged their strength to one another,..and danced a little bit.
pepper-salt adj. = pepper-and-salt n. 1.
ΚΠ
1882 W. Carleton Farm Ballads (rev. ed.) 71 I'd rather wear my homespun rig of pepper-salt and gray.
1951 T. Capote Grass Harp (1952) i. 3 A whip-thin, handsome woman with shingled pepper-salt hair.
pepper sauce n. [compare Dutch †peper-sausse (now pepersaus ; 1648 in the passage translated in quot. 1648)] any of various pungent sauces made from the fruits of capsicum peppers, used esp. as condiments.
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the world > food and drink > food > additive > sauce or dressing > [noun] > pepper sauces
peveradea1425
pepper sauce1648
Tabasco1652
picante1693
poivrade1699
chilli sauce1846
nam prik1857
hot sauce1874
peri-peri1964
harissa1973
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Peper-sausse, pepper-sauce.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World x. 296 It [sc. the lime] is also used for a particular kind of Sauce, which is called Pepper-Sauce, and is made of Cod-pepper.
1845 C. Matthews Big Abel & Little Manhattan vi. 48 Small tables stand and call for company, with salt-cellar, pepper-box, and black-bottle, with his quill, for pepper-sauce (or some such thing).
1996 Independent 7 Sept. (Mag.) 32/2 I used to find it confusing that, as well as Tabasco, there is an enormous range of hot pepper sauces.
pepper saxifrage n. a European plant of damp meadows, Silaum silaus (family Apiaceae ( Umbelliferae)), with dirty yellow flowers and a heavy fetid smell (also meadow pepper saxifrage).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Umbelliferae (umbellifers) > [noun] > other umbellifers
hemlocka700
petroselinumOE
parsleya1300
wild parsleya1300
parsnip1538
lovage1548
hartwort1562
meadow parsnip1562
ass-parsley1598
honewort1633
alexanders1637
dead-tongue1688
ajowan1773
Arracacha1823
pepper saxifrage1824
mock bishop-weed1848
pepper-and-salt1861
square parsley1866
ass's parsley1879
1824 J. E. Smith Eng. Flora ii. 91 Cnidium. Pepper-saxifrage.
1918 W. Graveson Brit. Wild Flowers (1919) xxi. 195 The Pepper Saxifrage is glabrous, it is from one to two feet high, and has prettily pinnate leaves.
1991 Times 10 Apr. 2/7 Loxley Church Meadow, locally renowned for its cowslips, dropwort and pepper saxifrage.
pepper shaker n. a pepper pot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > vessel for sprinkling sugar, pepper, or salt > pepper-pot
pepper-hornlOE
pepperbox1543
pepper castor1676
pepperpot1679
pepper shaker1889
pepperette1893
pepper1897
1889 Washington Post 4 Feb. 8 (advt.) Bargains in Salt and Pepper Shakers.
1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 22 Apr. 2/1 (advt.) Table Necessities..Pepper Shakers of Cut Glass, sterling silver tops.
2003 Times (Nexis) 8 Nov. (Mag. section) 94 Cherry-red billiard ball salt & pepper shakers £20.
pepper shrub n. (a) a shrub of the genus Piper, a pepper (sense 2a); †(b) Australian the mountain pepper, Drimys lanceolata (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > of unspecified, unidentified, or various type > [noun]
lich-holma1400
binding shrub1591
pepper shrub1693
1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 687 It's Trunk is loaded with Snails, and the Pepper-Shrub often climbs up it like Ivy.
1830 Hobart Town Almanack 65 in E. E. Morris Austral Eng. at Pepper-tree A thick grove of the pepper~shrub, Tasmania fragrans.
1990 Methodist Recorder 7 June 4/3 The proper preparation and serving of Yagona or Kava is important on formal occasions [in Fiji]. The drink is made from the dried root of the pepper shrub [sc. Piper methysticum].
pepper soup n.
Brit. /ˌpɛpə ˈsuːp/
, /ˌpɛpə ˈsuːp/U.S. /ˌpɛpər ˈsup/
, /ˌpɛpər ˈsup/West African English /ˌpɛpɛ ˈsup/
any of various soups made (esp. in West Africa) with chilli peppers and other pungent spices./ˌpɛpɛ ˈsup/ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > soup or pottage > [noun] > other soups
breec1000
mortressc1387
cretone?a1400
mortrelc1400
primrosea1450
water-kale?a1500
white broth?1537
plum broth1614
mutton broth1615
veal brotha1625
nettle-kale?c1625
China-broth1628
bisque1647
beer-broth1648
dilligrout1662
nativity broth1674
sowdyc1700
mandarin broth1701
white soup1708
soup-vermicell1724
soup-meagre1733
burgoo1743
sago-gruel1743
soup maigre1754
vermicelli soup1769
vermicelli1771
noodle soup1779
mock turtle soup1783
pepper-water1783
mulligatawny1784
powsowdie1787
macaroni soup1789
bird's nest soup1806
smiggins1825
garbure1829
pish-pash1834
laksa1846
sancocho1851
ajiaco1856
pepper soup1860
liquorice-soup1864
mock turtle1876
borsch1884
petite marmite1890
whey-brose1894
rassolnik1899
lokshen soup1900
menudo1904
hoosh1905
sinigang1912
waterzooi1915
Cullen Skink1916
swallow's nest soup1920
mizutaki1933
rasam1933
pasta fazool1935
pho1935
pasta fagioli1951
stracciatella1954
solyanka1958
tom yam1960
mannish water1968
pasta e fagioli1968
ribollita1968
tom yam kung1969
1860 J. L. Krapf Trav. E. Afr. iii. iii. 463 A plentiful meal, consisting of raw meat, pepper-soup, bread, beer, and wine.
1964 J. P. Clark Masquerade in Three Plays 76 Why, Only this morning I opened my fishbasket To have stock for our pepper soup.
1991 B. Okri Famished Road (1992) i. ix. 36 It turned out that he had left without paying for his drinks and his peppersoup.
pepper steak n. a beef steak rubbed or pounded with black pepper before cooking.Quot. 1907 is referring to a different recipe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > steak dishes
Scots collops1657
Scotch collops1664
porterhouse steak1842
Chateaubriand1877
plank steak1904
steak tartare1911
churrasco1917
Swiss steak1932
tournedos Rossini1937
pepper steak1939
cheesesteak1941
steak au poivre1953
steak Diane1957
carpet-bag steak1958
peppered steak1960
1907 Chicago Tribune 18 Oct. 9/3 Pepper Steak. Place a thick steak in a baker, salt, pepper, and butter; chop fine three tomatoes, one sweet green pepper, and one small onion.]
1939 L. H. Chu Chinese Restaurants in N.Y. City 48v (caption) Pepper Steak.
1989 Texas Monthly Oct. 24/3 Old standbys like lemon chicken and pepper steak are best sampled on the combination plates.
pepper tea n. chiefly U.S. a liquid solution made pungent by the addition of pepper, typically ingested as a remedy for various ailments.
ΚΠ
1816 Raleigh Reg. & N.-Carolina Gaz. 1 Nov. I have labored under a disease called the Chronic Rheumatism for nine months... I stated my case to a friend who advised me to drink Red Pepper Tea, which I accordingly did.]
1897 Atlantic Monthly Aug. 211/1 Is it a sickness or a pain?.. Shall I give thee some pepper tea, or salt and water?
1997 T. Morrison Paradise (1999) 271 Now, at eighty-six, in spite of her never-fail reputation (which was to say she never lost a mother..), they refused her their swollen bellies... Poured her pepper tea in the toilet.
pepper vine n. (a) any climbing shrub of the genera Piper or Capsicum; (b) a Virginia creeper, Ampelopsis arborea, of the southern United States.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > non-British climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > North American
woodbine1624
Virginia vine1629
staff-tree1633
Virginia creeper?1703
climbing vine1760
mayflower1778
pepper vine1783
arbutus1785
trailing arbutus1785
pipe vine1803
Ampelopsis1805
ground-laurel1814
waxwork1818
ivory plum1828
fever twig1830
yerba buena1847
mountain pink1850
New England mayflower1855
creeping snowberry1856
Virginian creeper1856
May blossom1871
sand verbena1880
staff-vine1884
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > peppercorn plant
pepperOE
pepper plant1611
pepperbush1672
pepper vine1783
1783 W. Marsden Hist. Sumatra 118 The season of the pepper vines bearing, as well as that of most other fruits on Sumatra, is subject to great irregularities.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1217 Vine, Pepper. Ampelopsis bipinnata.
1958 G. A. Petrides Field Guide Trees & Shrubs Northeastern & North-central U.S. 96 Pepper vine, Ampelopsis arborea... Either bushy and somewhat upright or a climbing vine.
2003 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 4 May 98 Our route wound through pepper vines and cardamom plantations into dense forest.
pepperweed n. any small wild plant resembling or allied to the peppers (sense 2a), esp. pepperworts of the genus Lepidium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > tropical > other tropical plants
Peperomia1837
pepperweed1871
parakeelya1885
colea1927
1871 C. Kingsley At Last v That one happens to be..a pepper-weed, first cousin to the great black-pepper bush.
1944 Ecol. Monogr. 14 112/2 The enormous stands of prairie pepperweed (Lepidium densiflorum)..which occasionally develop in wet years.
1999 Diversity & Distributions 5 106/1 The distribution and preferred habitats of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium L., were determined from a questionnaire.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > wheat > wheat plant > diseased
pepper-wheat1743
1743 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman (Dublin ed.) Sept. ix. 45 The Nature of Pepper Wheat: So called, because its small, lean, blackish coloured Corns are roundish like a Pepper Corn.
1764 Museum Rusticum (1765) 3 ii. 5 A good crop,..clear from smut and pepper-wheat.
pepper wine n. wine spiced with pepper, or in which peppers have been steeped.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > drinks made with wine > [noun] > spiced wine
hippocrasa1400
hippocras winea1475
pepper wine1601
Hippocratic winea1626
mirabilis1673
sangaree1736
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xiv. xvi. 421 We spice our wines now adaies also,..we adde pepper and hony thereto: which some call Condite, others Pepper-wines [L. piperata].
1975 E. L. Ortiz Caribbean Cooking (1977) 46 Black Bean Soup... Pepper Wine may be added to each serving.
2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 253/2 Pepper wine, made from small hot peppers that are soaked for several days in dry sherry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > [noun] > invertebrate > unspecified
pepper worm1688
pipeweed1755
sea-date1797
1688 J. Glanvill tr. B. Le B. de Fontenelle Plurality of Worlds 87 How lately have our virtuoso's found out the pepper worms, which in the least drop of water appear like so many dolphins, sporting in the ocean.
a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. i. 31 The..mite or peper-worm, (that dust of a creature, whereof fifty thousand are contained in one drop).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
pepperv.
/ˈpɛpə/, U.S. /ˈpɛpər/ I. Literal uses.† 2. transitive. To treat with pepper; (spec. in Falconry) to wash (a hawk) with water and pepper to rid it of lice. Obsolete.
1. † b. intransitive. To sprinkle or dispense pepper. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To sprinkle with pepper; to flavour or season with pepper. Frequently in passive.In Old English also intransitive with object implied.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > seasoning > season [verb (transitive)] > pepper
pepperOE
OE Recipe (Wellcome 75.46) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1890) 84 325 Cnucian godne dæl garleaces & don þærto & piperian, swaswa þe þince.
OE Lacnunga (2001) I. lxxxii. 70 Wring ðurh clað & pipera þonne, & wylle þonne swiðe.
OE Lacnunga (2001) I. clxxxi. 122 Pipra hit syþþan swa swa man wille.
1538 J. Husee Let. 10 Feb. in State Papers Henry VIII (P.R.O.: SP 1/129) f. 27 Part of them [sc. iij does] ar peperd and saltyd here.
1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 231 Some Pastry business, which burns the Mouth, it is so excessively peppered.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 142 This Venison is plaguily pepper'd.
1767 H. Glasse Art of Cookery (new ed.) App. 380 Dried salmon..when laid on the gridiron, should be moderately peppered.
1831 J. Bentham Memorandum-bk. in Wks. (1843) XI. 73 You do as you do by a cucumber..when it has been peppered, salted, and vinegared.
1882 Mme Bouchard How to live on Nothing 17 All roasts should be peppered as well as salted.
1968 C. Glyn Heights & Depths v. 73 Bott salted and peppered the spuds vigorously.
1994 L. Erdrich Bingo Palace xi. 130 A plate holding venison, limp brown rings of onions, potatoes mashed with a fork, buttered and peppered.
ΚΠ
1867 J. Macgregor Rob Roy on Baltic xvii. 205 There is..the blind that won't pull down or stop up, and the pepper-box that won't pepper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > [verb (transitive)] > other hawking procedures
enseamc1450
imp1477
rebuke1486
feat1508
mewc1515
canvas1559
cope1575
mail1575
man1575
watchc1575
to imp the wings of1596
pepper1618
stone1618
brail1643
feak1686
hack1873
1618 S. Latham New & 2nd Bk. Falconrie xi. 34 Hauing one euening your water with pepper prouided, and when you haue, according to the order and accustomed manner, well washed and peppered her, take off her rufterhood.
1706 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 5) 75 Others keep their Sparrow-Hawks on the Pearch until March, and then throw them into the Mew, peppering them for Lice, if they have any.
1896 V. Fane Under Cross & Crescent 19 I shall brush and pepper him twice a year.
II. Uses alluding to the pungent, spicy, biting, or stimulating qualities of pepper.† 5. slang.
3. transitive. Now colloquial. To inflict severe suffering or punishment on (a person); to hit repeatedly, beat severely. Also: †to ruin, destroy (obsolete). Also intransitive with away. Cf. sense 7b. †to pepper a person's box (also pans) (obsolete): to beat a person severely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to
undoc950
shendOE
forfarea1000
endc1000
to do awayOE
aquenchc1175
slayc1175
slayc1175
stathea1200
tinea1300
to-spilla1300
batec1300
bleschea1325
honisha1325
leesea1325
wastec1325
stanch1338
corrumpa1340
destroy1340
to put awayc1350
dissolvec1374
supplanta1382
to-shend1382
aneantizec1384
avoidc1384
to put outa1398
beshenda1400
swelta1400
amortizec1405
distract1413
consumec1425
shelfc1425
abroge1427
downthringc1430
kill1435
poisonc1450
defeat1474
perish1509
to blow away1523
abrogatea1529
to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529
dash?1529
to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531
put in the pot1531
wipea1538
extermine1539
fatec1540
peppera1550
disappoint1563
to put (also set) beside the saddle1563
to cut the throat of1565
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to make a hand of (also on, with)1569
demolish1570
to break the neck of1576
to make shipwreck of1577
spoil1578
to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579
cipher1589
ruinate1590
to cut off by the shins1592
shipwreck1599
exterminate1605
finish1611
damnify1612
ravel1614
braina1616
stagger1629
unrivet1630
consummate1634
pulverizea1640
baffle1649
devil1652
to blow up1660
feague1668
shatter1683
cook1708
to die away1748
to prove fatal (to)1759
to knock up1764
to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834
to put the kibosh on1834
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
kibosh1841
to chaw up1843
cooper1851
to jack up1870
scuttle1888
to bugger up1891
jigger1895
torpedo1895
on the fritz1900
to put paid to1901
rot1908
down and out1916
scuppera1918
to put the skids under1918
stonker1919
liquidate1924
to screw up1933
cruel1934
to dig the grave of1934
pox1935
blow1936
to hit for six1937
to piss up1937
to dust off1938
zap1976
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
to-beatc893
threshOE
bustc1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
berrya1250
to-bunea1250
touchc1330
arrayc1380
byfrapc1380
boxc1390
swinga1400
forbeatc1420
peal?a1425
routa1425
noddlea1450
forslinger1481
wipe1523
trima1529
baste1533
waulk1533
slip1535
peppera1550
bethwack1555
kembc1566
to beat (a person) black and blue1568
beswinge1568
paik1568
trounce1568
canvass1573
swaddle?1577
bebaste1582
besoop1589
bumfeage1589
dry-beat1589
feague1589
lamback1589
clapperclaw1590
thrash1593
belam1595
lam1595
beswaddle1598
bumfeagle1598
belabour1600
tew1600
flesh-baste1611
dust1612
feeze1612
mill1612
verberate1614
bethumpa1616
rebuke1619
bemaul1620
tabor1624
maula1627
batterfang1630
dry-baste1630
lambaste1637
thunder-thump1637
cullis1639
dry-banga1640
nuddle1640
sauce1651
feak1652
cotton1654
fustigate1656
brush1665
squab1668
raddle1677
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slam1691
bebump1694
to give (a person) his load1694
fag1699
towel1705
to kick a person's butt1741
fum1790
devel1807
bray1808
to beat (also scare, etc.) someone's daylights out1813
mug1818
to knock (a person) into the middle of next week1821
welt1823
hidea1825
slate1825
targe1825
wallop1825
pounce1827
to lay into1838
flake1841
muzzle1843
paste1846
looder1850
frail1851
snake1859
fettle1863
to do over1866
jacket1875
to knock seven kinds of —— out of (a person)1877
to take apart1880
splatter1881
to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of1884
to —— the shit out of (a person or thing)1886
to do up1887
to —— (the) hell out of1887
to beat — bells out of a person1890
soak1892
to punch out1893
stoush1893
to work over1903
to beat up1907
to punch up1907
cream1929
shellac1930
to —— the bejesus out of (a person or thing)1931
duff1943
clobber1944
to fill in1948
to bash up1954
to —— seven shades of —— out of (a person or thing)1976
to —— seven shades out of (a person or thing)1983
beast1990
becurry-
fan-
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat > soundly or severely
anointa1500
peppera1550
bumbastea1566
dust1612
blue-beata1627
cullis1639
chafe1673
to tan (a person's) hide1679
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (intransitive)] > specifically a person
to lay ona1225
to dust a person's jacket1630
to brush one's coat for him1665
to give (one) sock(s)1699
pepper1829
lam1875
beast1990
a1550 Birch'd School-boy (Balliol Oxf. 354) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 404 My master pepered my ars with well good spede.
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Aiv Against the next Parliament, I wyll picke out a time to pepper them.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 192 I haue pepperd two of them. View more context for this quotation
1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath sig. C1 And I were a man as I am no woman, id'e pepper your box for that ieast.
1609 R. Armin Hist. Two Maids More-clacke sig. C4 Boy, Ile pepper your pans.
1693 T. Southerne Maids Last Prayer ii. i, in Wks. (1721) II. 28 If he finds out my haunts he swears he'll pepper me.
1759 Ann. Reg. 1758 i. 100/2 The Orpheus..is peppered very well too, her masts very much wounded.
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian III. i. 29 Well, Signor, he's peppered now.
1829 P. Egan Boxiana New Ser. II. 234 Burn peppered away right and left, until Magee was as wild as a colt.
1888 Sporting Life (Philadelphia) 6 Dec. 4/3 Continued to pepper his canister with the left.
1958 J. Carew Black Midas x. 232 Come in, boy, before me pepper you skin!
2000 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Tribune (Nexis) 12 Feb. b1 She showed no defensive skills, and Ortegon peppered her opponent's face with both fists early on.
4. † b. transitive. To flatter with praise or compliments. Also intransitive. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To provoke (a person) to anger or other strong feeling; to inflame; to stimulate, enliven. Usually with up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > make angry
wrethec900
abelgheeOE
abaeileOE
teenOE
i-wrathec1075
wratha1200
awratha1250
gramec1275
forthcalla1300
excitea1340
grieve1362
movea1382
achafea1400
craba1400
angerc1400
mada1425
provokec1425
forwrecchec1450
wrothc1450
arage1470
incensea1513
puff1526
angry1530
despite1530
exasperate1534
exasper1545
stunt1583
pepper1599
enfever1647
nanger1675
to put or set up the back1728
roil1742
outrage1818
to put a person's monkey up1833
to get one's back up1840
to bring one's nap up1843
rouse1843
to get a person's shirt out1844
heat1855
to steam up1860
to get one's rag out1862
steam1922
to burn up1923
to flip out1964
1599 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. King Edward IV sig. Ov Fare ye well Sir, I hope I have pepperd yee.
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood Satyre vii. sig. F2v Parboyld in rage, pepperd in heate of ire.
1855 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Feb. 210/2 ‘Always happy to hear from you, General Delablueblazes, in any way’, answered Bildad, whose disquisitions upon war seemed to have peppered him up to a degree of ugliness.
1913 Bulletin (San Francisco) 5 Mar. 19/2 in Comments on Etymol. (1999) 29/3 This afternoon the boys are having another practice game to pepper them up for tomorrow's opening with Callaghan's brigade.
1991 Sports Illustr. 8 Apr. 62/2 We just want to keep him busy early... Stick him, stab him, pepper him up and make him miss.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (transitive)]
flatter?c1225
flackera1250
slickc1250
blandishc1305
blandc1315
glozec1330
beflatter1340
curryc1394
elkena1400
glaverc1400
anointa1425
glotherc1480
losenge1480
painta1513
to hold in halsc1560
soothe1580
smooth1584
smooth1591
soothe1601
pepper1654
palp1657
smoothify1694
butter1700
asperse1702
palaver1713
blarney1834
sawder1834
soft-soap1835
to cock up1838
soft-solder1838
soother1842
behoney1845
soap1853
beslaver1861
beslobber1868
smarm1902
sugar1923
sweetmouth1948
smooth-talk1950
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (intransitive)]
fikea1225
flatter?c1225
ficklec1230
blandisha1340
smooth1340
glaver1380
softa1382
glozec1386
to hold (also bear) up oila1387
glothera1400
flaitec1430
smekec1440
love?a1500
flata1522
blanch1572
cog1583
to smooth it1583
smooth1587
collogue1602
to oil the tongue1607
sleek1607
wheedle1664
pepper1784
blarney1837
to pitch (the) woo1935
flannel1941
sweet-talk1956
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot i. vii. 54 Our [mock] Emperour (having a spice of self-conceit before, was soundly peppered now).
1774 O. Goldsmith Retaliation 111 'Till his relish grown callous, almost to disease, Who pepper'd the highest, was surest to please.
1784 Sir J. Reynolds in C. R. Leslie & T. Taylor Life Sir J. Reynolds (1865) II. viii. 459 Vying with each other who should pepper highest.
c. transitive. To add passion or colour to (speech, writing, etc.); to intersperse with provocative or contentious elements. Also intransitive.In later use frequently blending with sense 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > imbue with vigour or force [verb (transitive)] > make more piquant or poignant
farcea1340
sprinkle1605
cantharidize1812
pepper1835
acuminate1879
1835 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 515/2 A novel..requires less intense, less fierce interest, than the acted drama, and, accordingly, the novelists do not pepper quite so high as the dramatists.
1937 C. Isherwood Lions & Shadows 191 He peppered his work liberally with such terms as ‘eutectic’, ‘sigmoid curve’, [etc.].
1977 W. Foley No Pipe Dreams for Father 27 He loved to pick up what he considered smart sayings to pepper his own limited conversation.
1992 Economist 6 June 127/2 The musical analysis in this book is provocative, stimulating and peppered with stinging rebukes to other, lesser critics.
a. transitive. To have sexual intercourse with. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with
mingeOE
haveOE
knowc1175
ofliec1275
to lie with (or by)a1300
knowledgec1300
meetc1330
beliea1350
yknowc1350
touchc1384
deala1387
dightc1386
usea1387
takec1390
commona1400
to meet witha1400
servea1400
occupy?a1475
engender1483
jangle1488
to be busy with1525
to come in1530
visitc1540
niggle1567
mow1568
to mix one's thigh with1593
do1594
grind1598
pepper1600
yark1600
tumble1603
to taste of1607
compressc1611
jumble1611
mix?1614
consort?1615
tastea1616
bumfiddle1630
ingressa1631
sheet1637
carnal1643
night-work1654
bump1669
bumble1680
frig?c1680
fuck1707
stick1707
screw1719
soil1722
to do over1730
shag1770
hump1785
subagitatec1830
diddle1879
to give (someone) onec1882
charver1889
fuckeec1890
plugc1890
dick1892
to make a baby1911
to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912
jazz1920
rock1922
yentz1924
roll1926
to make love1927
shtupa1934
to give (or get) a tumble1934
shack1935
bang1937
to have it off1937
rump1937
tom1949
to hop into bed (with)1951
ball1955
to make it1957
plank1958
score1960
naughty1961
pull1965
pleasurea1967
to have away1968
to have off1968
dork1970
shaft1970
bonk1975
knob1984
boink1985
fand-
1600 T. Dekker Old Fortunatus sig. H2 Agrip.: I could pepper you, but I will not. Andel.: O, doe not violate my chastitie.
1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster North-ward Hoe ii. sig. C I haue..a Grocer that would faine Pepper me, a Welsh Gaptaine [sic] that laies hard seege [etc.].
1682 T. D'Urfey Royalist i. 5 Wou'd I had your Mistress to make tryal of..: gad if I had, I'd pepper her.
1700 J. Fletcher & J. Vanbrugh Pilgrim (rev. ed.) iii. 22 If any of the Madmen get her, they'l Pepper her... She's as Leacherous as a she ferret.
b. transitive. To infect with venereal disease. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > venereal disease > infect with venereal disease [verb (transitive)]
firea1529
burn?1529
pepper1615
1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 28 And then you snarle against our simple French As if you had beene pepperd with your wench.
1662 I. T. Haughton's Grim the Collier v. 71, in Gratiæ Theatrales She hath pepper'd me, I feel it work, My Teeth are loose, and my Belly swell'd.
1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 5th Bk. Wks. xxi. 94 I saw there a young Parazon cure many of the..Pox, tho they were never so pepper'd..he made them as wholesome as so many Sucking-pigs.
1696 P. A. Motteux Love's a Jest iii. 26 My young Master pepper'd the Dairy-maid, the Dairy-maid pepper'd the Groom, the groom pepper'd the Chamber-maid, [etc.].
1723 tr. F. C. Weber Present State Russia I. 277 A Woman of the Town..having peppered some hundreds of the Preobrazinsky Guards.
III. Uses relating to the fine particles characteristic of ground pepper.
6. transitive. To cover (a surface) with numerous small spots or objects, as with grains of pepper (usually in passive). Also: (of small objects or particles) to sprinkle or cover (a surface). Frequently figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > spot of colour > spot [verb (transitive)] > speckle
powderc1380
besprenga1425
prick1530
sprinkle1551
peckle1570
speckle1570
speck1580
pepper?1605
pounce1610
freckle1613
freck1621
stipplea1774
punctuate1777
dot1784
puncture1848
bespeckle1860
prickle1888
tick1910
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > sprinkle > sprinkle (a surface) with something
besprengc1000
strinklea1300
to-sprenga1382
sparkle14..
sprinkle?a1425
besprinklec1440
asperse1490
spray1527
asperge1547
pepper?1605
bepeps1622
conspergate1623
bescatter1631
spurtle1633
spatter1647
consperge1657
superfuse1657
bespatter1674
superseminate1699
asperge1721
sparge1786
spray1861
?1605 J. Davies Wittes Pilgrimage sig. S4v Note the Lyning of the roialst Robe; Its powdred Ermyne, pepperd to with Stings.
1705 Lady Wentworth Let. 9 Mar. in Wentworth Papers (1883) 40 Betty..affects to be afraid of the small pox, and thearfor I fear would be pepered with them should she get them.
1836 M. Scott Cruise of Midge xxi. 376 The neighbouring thickets were peppered with..small white-washed buildings.
1882 B. Harte Flip, & Found at Blazing Star 16 Her flushed face..peppered with minute..freckles.
1954 C. Beaton Glass of Fashion viii. 153 The adjective ‘terrible’ peppered every sentence.
1992 A. W. Eckert Sorrow in our Heart i. 50 Icy bits of wind-driven snow peppered the thin pahkapoomis covering the only window port.
7.
a. transitive. To pelt with small missiles; to bombard with shots, bullets, pellets, etc. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > assail with missiles [verb (transitive)] > of missile: hit > hit with missile > repeatedly > with small missiles
bepepper1612
pepper1612
pellet1709
1612 T. Best Jrnl. 29 Nov. in Voy. to E. Indies (1934) 35 I..began to ploy uppon him, both with greate and small shott; that by an hower wee had well peperd him.
1679 J. Somerville Memorie Somervilles (1815) II. 347 First peppering them soundly with ther shott.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. xv. 107 I'll pepper you better than ever you was peppered by Jenny Bouncer. View more context for this quotation
1773 Life N. Frowde 135 She soon got into order and peppered us with her small Shot.
1825 Edinb. Mag. & Literary Misc. Dec. 712/2 I'll first astonish the foremost with a broadside or two..as for the second, you know we can pepper her at our lesure [sic].
1884 G. A. Sala Journey due South (1887) i. xxiv. 327 Peppering the guide occasionally with Greek and Latin lore.
1918 Stars & Stripes 1 Mar. 1/7 The German machine guns were peppering the open land.
2000 Front Oct. 24/2 They thought it was a Bigfoot, so peppered it with bullets in order to claim a $1m reward.
b. intransitive. colloquial. To discharge a volley of bullets, shots, etc. (at a person or thing); (of rain) †to fall heavily (obsolete). Frequently with away. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > rain falls [verb (intransitive)] > rain heavily
ropec1450
to ding down1554
to come down1597
to ding onc1650
to rain cats and dogs1661
sile1703
pour1737
teem1753
pepper1767
flood1813
to rain pitchforks1815
rash1824
spate1853
bucket1926
tipplea1930
piss1948
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge missile [verb (intransitive)] > repeatedly > small missiles
pepper1884
1767 T. Gray Let. 11 Sept. in Corr. (1971) III. 976 We came peppering (& raining) back thro Keswick to Penrith. Next day..raining still.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 105 The rain peppered away.
1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xviii. 167 He..kep' his horse before him to stop the bullets; but the Grangerfords..peppered away at him.
1890 ‘W. A. Wallace’ Only a Sister 37 He could not possibly be peppering away at the pheasants in Sir James's covers.
1951 H. Wouk Caine Mutiny (1952) v. xx. 235 Cruisers and destroyers ranged beside them, peppering at the atoll.
2001 Sunday Tasmanian (Nexis) 26 Aug. 51 Canterbury continued to pepper away at goal but was unable to score.
8.
a. transitive. To sprinkle like pepper; to scatter in small particles. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > sprinkle > (as) specific substance
powderc1400
snewc1440
sinapize1653
dust1790
pepper1821
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 197 As grinning north-winds..pepper'd round my head their hail and snow.
1899 E. T. Fowler Double Thread xii People go peppering them [sc. words] all over the place, utterly unconscious of the awful responsibility.
1991 Amer. Cinematographer Sept. 81/1 We wanted to get a lot of dolly shots and crane shots to pepper throughout the movie.
1999 PR Newswire (Nexis) 9 Nov. (Lifestyle section) I need to get some of those security decal stickers and pepper them all over my house and car.
b. intransitive. To scatter or fall in numerous small particles. Frequently with down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter or be dispersed [verb (intransitive)] > be scattered in particles
flitter1548
scatter1577
shatter1577
pepper1857
1857 Knickerbocker Nov. 435 And great Gewhilikins! wasn't the snow peppering down!
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers iv. 65 Paul loved to see the black grains..peppering jollily downwards till the straw was full.
1945 C. Mann in W. Murdoch & H. Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 263 They would be routed..by the driven sand and salt peppering into their eyes.
2003 Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel (Nexis) 30 Mar. (Living section) e1 ‘I guess you could say I was somewhat familiar with whittling’, said 73-year-old Henry, as wood shavings peppered down on and around his feet.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.eOE
v.OE