paprika
/pəˈpɹiːkə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.96 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Powdered spice made from dried and ground fruits of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper (cultivars of Capsicum annuum), or mixtures of these (used especially in Hungarian cooking).
Uncountable
noun
A dried but not yet ground fruit of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper sold for use as a spice.
Countable
adj
Of a bright reddish orange colour, like that of the dried paprika.
Example Sentences
- "As a condiment in food, paprika is reputed to be strongly aphrodisiac."
- "California is taking the lead, producing a paprika that is more standardized and more uniformly available than the European growers offer."
- "Using the trio of paprikas gives more flavour than you'd get using a single paprika."
- "strings of red paprikas hang outside to dry in the autumn"
Etymology
Borrowed from Hungarian paprika, from Serbo-Croatian pàprika, from pȁpar, from Proto-Slavic *pьpьrь, from Latin piper, from Ancient Greek πέπερι (péperi, “pepper”), from Indo-Aryan; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). Akin to paprikash.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pəˈpɹiːkə/
- British English: /pəˈpɹiːkə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
paprikas (plural)
paprica (alternative, obsolete)
more paprika (comparative)
most paprika (superlative)