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Glite Dictionary
Guinea grains

Guinea grains

9.9
A West African spice made from small peppery seeds
  • noun
translation icon : granos de Guinea
  • The spicy flavor of Guinea grains is prized in traditional West African dishes.

Examples

  • She ground some Guinea grains to add a peppery kick to the stew.

  • Traders once imported Guinea grains into Europe as an exotic spice.

  • I added Guinea grains to my spice blend.

  • Have you ever tried Guinea grains in your cooking?

  • The spicy flavor of Guinea grains is prized in traditional West African dishes.

  • She ground some Guinea grains to add a peppery kick to the stew.

  • Traders once imported Guinea grains into Europe as an exotic spice.

Synonyms

Aframomum melegueta
vsGuinea grains
  • Specialized
9.9

A West African plant whose spicy seeds are used to flavor food

is the everyday culinary name rather than the botanical label
grains of paradise
vsGuinea grains
9.9

Small peppery seeds from a West African plant used as a spice

is the formal plant description rather than a cooking label
melagueta pepper
vsGuinea grains
  • UK
9.9

A West African seed used as a strong, spicy flavor for food

is the general plant description without stressing commercial value
Guinea pepper
vsGuinea grains
9.9

A West African plant whose hot seeds people use as a spice and medicine

focuses only on culinary spice use rather than medicinal use

Surface Forms

Guinea grains singular
Guinea grain plural

Morphology

Guinea + grain

The compound is transparently built from the place-name 'Guinea' + 'grains' (seeds), so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it refers to seeds from Guinea used as a spice. While the precise botanical species name ('Aframomum melegueta') is specialized, the everyday meaning (a kind of seed/spice associated with Guinea) follows normal compositional place-name + noun patterns.

Etymology

Guinea grains gets its name from tiny, peppery seeds from West Africa called 'grains of paradise'. Europeans named them after the region called 'Guinea', so Guinea shows where they came from and grains means the small seeds, which is why Guinea grains now means that West African 'spice'.