malagueta
/ˌmɑləˈɡweɪdə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Synonym of grains of paradise, the seeds or seed capsules of the West African Aframomum melegueta; the plant itself.
noun
The seeds or seed capsules of a Caribbean variety of Capsicum frutescens; the plant itself, now extensively grown in Brazil, Portugal, and Mozambique.
Example Sentences
- "In Ginney the fruit that is most rife and common... is named Maniguetta."
- "The people of the Gold Coast, when suffering from headache, rub over the forehead a paste of Malaguetta pepper."
- "Grains of Paradise, Guinea Grains, Melegueta or Mallaguetta Pepper, from Ampelopsis Grana Paradisi, or Habzeli of Ethiopia... Two kinds of these grains are known in the English markets, one plumper than the other... They resemble Pepper in their effects, but are seldom used except in veterinary practice and to give strength to spirits, wine, beer, and vinegar."
- "Their seasoning is generally a berry of the Malaguetta, a variety of the Capsicum Gutescens."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: malagueta, malaguette, meleghetta, melega
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmɑləˈɡweɪdə/
- British English: /maləˈɡɛtə/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food, Medicine.
Inflected Forms
malaguetas (plural)
melegueta (alternative)
mallaguetta (alternative)
manegete (alternative)
maniguetta (alternative)
maniguette (alternative)
mallagetta (alternative)
mellegette (alternative)
malegutta (alternative)
malaguetta (alternative)
malagato (alternative)
malaget (alternative)