Chilli
/ˈtʃɪli/noun
A hot pepper or the spicy fruit of certain Capsicum plants.
Did you know?The English word comes through Spanish from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire, and the plant’s name spread globally after contact between the Americas and Europe.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
Nahuatl
chīlli
“The hot pepper fruit used as food and seasoning”
16th Century
Spanish
chile
“The pepper plant and its fruit, borrowed from Nahuatl”
17th Century
English
chili
“A hot pepper or pepper seasoning”
Modern English
English
chilli
“Standard spelling variant of chili, especially in British English”