Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
Synonym of grains of paradise, the seeds or seed capsules of the West African Aframomum melegueta; the plant itself.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: grains of paradise
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The seeds or seed capsules of a Caribbean variety of Capsicum frutescens; the plant itself, now extensively grown in Brazil, Portugal, and Mozambique.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Portuguese malagueta, probably via Middle French malaguette, from Italian meleghetta, from Italian melega (“sorghum”) and -etta (diminutive suffix). There are various paths by which the name could have become applied to the African pepper. Medieval Latin melegeta was an Indonesian spice called after millet on the basis of the supposed resemblance of their grains. By the mid-15th century, the West African Grain Coast was known in Portuguese as costa da malagueta, whence the place name was borrowed into other languages and applied to its local products. Early English use reports that it was the local name of the spice, long preserved around Cape Palmas, which may indicate a Mande or Kwa origin, although such use is usually attributed to loanwords from Portuguese. The unrelated Brazilian pepper acquired the name from its similar piquancy.
Across languages
2 source translations are retained for this English entry.
