Etymograph

English

ghost chili

Ghost chili comes from Assamese ভোট-জলকীয়া.

  1. Assamesemodernভোট-জলকীয়া
  2. Englishtodayghost chili

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Assamesemodernভোট-জলকীয়া
  2. Englishtodayghost chili

Made of the words ghost + chili

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysd-

…

Proto-Germanic *gaistaz ‘terror’

Proto-West Germanic *gaist ‘ghost’

Old English gāst ‘breath’

Middle English gost ‘a spiritual being’

English ghost

Classical Nahuatl chīlli ‘chili pepper’

Spanish chile ‘a chili pepper’

English chili

The story

The first element bhüt, meaning Bhutanese, was mistakenly confused for near-homonym ভূত (bhut) meaning ghost, thus producing the English (mis-)translation “ghost pepper”.

Every English word from Assamese ভোট-জলকীয়া

Today it means

noun Synonym of bhut jolokia.

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

Etymograph / Assamese ভোট-জলকীয়া / ghost chili

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