Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A colorless, pungent, crystalline compound, C18H27NO3, that is derived from certain capsicums and is a strong irritant to skin and mucous membranes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The crystalline, active principle (C18H27NO3) of Spanish and Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum and C. minimum).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A colorless crystalline substance extracted from the Capsicum annuum, and giving off vapors of intense acridity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun organic chemistry A chemical compound found in chilli peppers, which is responsible for their pungent flavor.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun colorless pungent crystalline compound derived from capsicum; source of the hotness of hot peppers of the genus Capsicum such as chili and cayenne and jalapeno

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by Latin capsa, box) of earlier capsicin : capsic(um) + –in.]

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Examples

  • One is called the capsaicin receptor, after the stinging substance in red peppers, because it is triggered both by hot air and hot spices.

    Why Does It Hurt So Bad? 2010

  • Well, what happens is that that even when - in experimental models, when they give this capsaicin, which is the active ingredient, chronically, you do become desensitized to it, eventually.

    New Frontier For Geeks: The Kitchen 2010

  • If you actually take the active ingredient known as capsaicin and put them in a body cream, you could actually ward off arthritis.

    CNN Transcript Feb 28, 2009 2009

  • Speaking of hot, the real heat comes from capsaicin, which is stored in the ribs of these chili peppers.

    Pop Goes The Weasel Patterson, James, 1947- 1999

  • Speaking of hot, the real heat comes from capsaicin, which is stored in the ribs of these chili peppers.

    Pop Goes the Weasel Patterson, James, 1947- 1999

  • The product's active ingredient is a synthetic form of the agent that makes chili peppers hot, known as capsaicin.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Reuters 2012

  • The product's active ingredient is a synthetic form of the agent that makes chili peppers hot, known as capsaicin.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2012

  • Food scientists have said that hot peppers contain a substance called capsaicin that can actually cause your body to heat up.

    Analysis 2010

  • Food scientists have said that hot peppers contain a substance called capsaicin that can actually cause your body to heat up.

    Analysis 2010

  • We finally verified the quality of this approach by studying the effects of a pharmacological and a physical agent, namely capsaicin and warmth, respectively.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Léon Plaghki et al. 2010

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