melagueta pepper
- noun
- /ˌmɛləˈɡeɪtə ˈpɛpər/
- UK
:
pimienta de melagueta
- The seeds of melagueta pepper are prized for their sharp, peppery taste.
Examples
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The chef added ground melagueta pepper to the stew for a spicy flavor.
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I bought some melagueta peppers at the market.
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In West Africa, melagueta pepper is commonly used in traditional medicines and cuisines.
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The chef added melagueta pepper to the stew.
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In West Africa, melagueta pepper is commonly used in traditional medicines and cuisines.
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The seeds of melagueta pepper are prized for their sharp, peppery taste.
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The chef added ground melagueta pepper to the stew for a spicy flavor.
Synonyms
A West African plant whose spicy seeds are used to flavor food
A West African spice made from small peppery seeds
Small peppery seeds from a West African plant used as a spice
A West African plant whose hot seeds people use as a spice and medicine
How Spicy
Surface Forms
Morphology
melagueta + pepper
The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun combination where the first element names a specific variety and the second element 'pepper' names the category, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a type of pepper or spice. Although 'melagueta' is a specialized or loanword (a plant name), the modifier+head pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, making the overall meaning accessible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Melagueta pepper may come from the old Portuguese word malagueta, a name traders used for very hot peppers. People compared the sharp seeds to those hot peppers, so the name stayed and today melagueta pepper means the West African 'spice' with a strong, 'peppery' taste.