pimento

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   allspice: the dried aromatic berry of the tropical tree Pimenta dioica, or the tree itself

   The trader exported pimento from Jamaica for use in spice blends and preserving.

2. 2
   noun

   a ripe, mild red pepper, especially the type used in pimento cheese or to stuff olives

   The cook folded diced pimento into the cheese spread.

Borrowed from Portuguese pimento, cognate with Spanish pimiento and ultimately from Latin pigmentum ('coloring, pigment'). European pepper words were extended to several pungent or aromatic New World plants.

Topics