Peperoncino
/ˌpɛp.e.ronˈtʃi.no/noun
An Italian hot chili pepper, especially a small spicy one.
Did you know?Peperoncino comes from the same ancient pepper word that gave English *pepper*, but the fiery chili itself only reached Europe after the Americas were opened to the world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peperi-
“a pepper-like spice”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πέπερι (péperi)
“pepper”
Latin
Latin
piper
“pepper”
Italian
Italian
pepe
“pepper”
Italian
Italian
peperone
“large pepper; later also a chili pepper”
Modern Italian
Italian
peperoncino
“little chili pepper”