Etymograph

English

chili

Chili comes from Spanish chile ‘a chili pepper’, and goes back to Classical Nahuatl chīlli.

  1. Classical Nahuatlc. 1300–1600chīlli‘chili pepper’
  2. Spanishc. 1500–presentchile‘a chili pepper’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1874chili

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Classical Nahuatlc. 1300–1600chīlli‘chili pepper’
  2. Spanishc. 1500–presentchile‘a chili pepper’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1874chili

Earliest quotation: 1874, Finlay Dun, Peppers: “Capsicum—the dried ripe fruit of Capsicum fastigiatum—is also known…”

Linked words

through Spanish chile ‘a chili pepper’

chile, enchilada

Another origin of chili

  1. Spanishc. 1500–presentchile con carneliterally ‘chili with meat’
  2. Englishtodaychili

Today it means

noun The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Classical Nahuatl chīlli / chili

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