capsaicin
/kæpˈseɪəsən/ noun
Forms capsaicins
- noun (organic chemistry) A chemical compound found in chilli peppers, which is responsible for their piquancy.
Etymology
Arbitrary alteration of earlier capsicine, capsicin (“material extracted from cayenne pepper”), presumably to prevent confusion, from German Capsicin, from New Latin capsicum + German -in. Name introduced by John Clough Thresh (1850–1932) in “Capsaicin, the Active Principle of Capsicum Fruits”.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A colorless crystalline substance extracted from the Capsicum annuum, and giving off vapors of intense acridity.
Etymology [From Capsicum.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “capsaicin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details