grains of paradise
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.57 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The seeds or seed capsules of Aframomum melegueta, used as a medicine and spice, especially as a substitute for black pepper and in flavoring alcoholic beverages.
noun
Aframomum melegueta itself, a herbaceous perennial plant native to the swamps of the West African coast.
Example Sentences
- "...graynes of paradise, hoote & moyst þey be..."
- "When I found it [Two-Penny Drink] left a hot Tang behind it, it gave me just Reason to believe they had used Grains of Paradise, or long Pepper, both which will save Malt."
- "Guinea Grains and Grains of Paradise are considered, by the Trade, as one and the same article."
- ""Gærtner has figured the fruit and seeds of a scitamineous plant under the name of Zingiber Melægueta, and which he considered to be identical with the Grains of Paradise.""
- "...beer poisoned wi' grains o' paradise, and cocculus indicus."
- ""In fact this spice was making a second appearance in Europe: it was Guinea pepper, mentioned by Pliny as 'African pepper', and also known as Malaguetta pepper or grains of Paradise. Grains of Paradise had been very popular in the thirteenth century and again in the sixteenth; its popularity may have been due to the brilliant name thought up for it by some advertising genius born before his time.""
Etymology
Inflected Forms
grain of paradise (singular)
grains o' paradise (alternative)