Capsicum frutescens
- noun
- /ˈkæpsɪkəm fruːˈtɛsɛnz/
- Specialized
:
ají
- Many varieties of Capsicum frutescens are used to make spicy hot sauces.
Examples
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The fruit of Capsicum frutescens is small, bright red, and extremely hot.
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Farmers in Louisiana grow Capsicum frutescens for the production of Tabasco sauce.
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I love cooking with Capsicum frutescens for its heat.
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The Capsicum frutescens plant thrives in warm climates.
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Farmers in Louisiana grow Capsicum frutescens for the production of Tabasco sauce.
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Many varieties of Capsicum frutescens are used to make spicy hot sauces.
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The fruit of Capsicum frutescens is small, bright red, and extremely hot.
Synonyms
A plant that grows red hot peppers used for hot sauce
A small very hot red chili that people use to make hot sauce
How Hot
- US
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
2.7
1
3.5
1
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Capsicum + frutescens
This is a Latin binomial: 'Capsicum' clearly marks the genus (peppers), so a learner who knows that word will recognize it as a type of pepper plant. However 'frutescens' is a Latin specific epithet (literally ‘shrubby’) and is unlikely to be known by an average B1 learner, so the precise sense (the hot, medium-sized oblong pepper used for sauces) cannot be derived from the parts alone. The combination therefore gives a broad, partially predictable meaning but not the full, specific referent without prior exposure.
Etymology
Capsicum frutescens comes from Latin words that describe the pepper: capsicum comes from 'capsa' meaning 'box' because the seeds sit in a small pod like a little box, and frutescens means 'becoming a shrub', showing the plant grows as a small bush. So the name helps you remember it is a hot, medium-sized red pepper plant often used for sauces.