peppercornn.adj.
/ˈpɛpəkɔːn/, U.S. /ˈpɛpərˌkɔrn/ A. n.
1.
a. One of the berrylike fruits of the pepper plant, Piper nigrum, esp. dried for use as the spice pepper.The fruit is most commonly prepared by being dried, when not quite ripe, until it is black and wrinkled (more fully black peppercorn), then used in producing black pepper; or by being soaked, when ripe, till the pericarp becomes detached (more fully white peppercorn), then used in producing white pepper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > pepper > peppercorn
peppercorneOE
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. i. 24 Genim eft senepes sædes dæl..& xx piporcorna.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 5 Nim twelf pipercorn and gnind [read grind] hy smæle.
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 95v Take..greyne de Parise, galingale, cardomonium..& fiftene peper cornes.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2025 (MED) All þi soft grayns Sall vndire-put be all þe pake vn-to þir peper-cornes.
a1500 Agnus Castus (Laud) (1950) 201 (MED) Tak þis herbe and an hundred pepur-cornes and grynde hym with tweyn vnces of hony.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 8 And I haue not forgotten what the inside of a Church is made of, I am a Pepper corne, a brewers Horse.
1652 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Hist. Revol. Naples (1663) ii. 34 None might embeazle the value of a pepper corn.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Pepper The Pepper-Corns stick to one another Clusterways.
1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper xii. 259 Mix them with..a Blade or two of Mace, a few Pepper Corns, and a little Salt.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 525 As absurd as to suppose that a pepper-corn should command the motion of a mill-stone, or a grain of sand that of a mountain.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 176/2 Piper cubeba... The berry is small, about the size of the black pepper-corn.
1898 C. H. Senn Culinary Encycl. 86 Shot Pepper. This is mignonette pepper, which is made from white peppercorns. It is broken into grains or granulated about the size of mignonette seed.
1928 Granta 2 Nov. 74/2 I observed him surreptitiously remove a peppercorn from his mouth and gulp down two tumblers full of water.
1959 Home Encycl. 239 Tie loosely in a piece of muslin a few peppercorns, a blade of mace, a sprig of parsley.., and two cloves.
1989 A. Willan Reader's Digest Compl. Guide Cookery i. 30/1 Green peppercorns are unripe pepper berries.
2000 N.Y. Times 29 Nov. f3/3 Two of the most prized peppercorns, Malabar and Tellicherry, are grown in southern India.
b. Stipulated as the amount required in payment of a nominal rent or a quit-rent. Also (occasionally): a property carrying a rent of this kind.Still common in legal use, in the drawing up of leases.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > hire or rent > rent (land or real property) > [noun] > nominal
peppercorn1577
peppercorn rent1582
blanch farm1598
1470 in J. Fullarton Rec. Burgh Prestwick (1834) 9 For the quhilk he acht ȝerli..gef it be askit thre pepir cornis in annuele.]
1577 in F. G. Emmison Essex Wills (1987) (modernized text) IV. 183 My wife..shall have..the occupation of the house wherein I dwell,..paying my overseers the yearly rent of a peppercorn if demanded.
1607 S. Hieron Good Fight in Wks. (1620) I. 221 Some great man, out of his bounty, giueth thee an inheritance of some pounds by the yeare; thou must pay a pepper corne for thy rent.
1669 in Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1881) VII. 50 He payeinge a pepper corne to the said Treasurer upon demand for ever on the said 29th September.
1713 T. Hill Young Secretary's Guide 144 Yielding and paying therefore yearly unto the said W. Lord M.., one Pepper-corn only.
1734 S.-Carolina Gaz. 30 Mar. 3/2 To be Sold A Plantation call'd Epsom Wells... The Rent reserv'd is no more than a Pepper Corn if demanded.
1761 I. Fletcher Diary 23 Feb. (1994) 99 Agreed the trustees..to take back a lease for 999 years at a peper corn.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 332 The reservation of a peppercorn in the bargain and sale for a year, is a sufficient consideration to raise a use in the bargainee, so as to make the release valid.
1898 Encycl. Laws Eng. (at cited word) In modern times building leases sometimes reserve a pepper-corn as rent for the first few years.
1928 Daily Tel. 1 May 17/7 Leasehold ground rents of £75 12s and other leasehold parcels and peppercorns in Chelsea.
1994 M. Barnes et al. Hill & Redman's Law of Landlord & Tenant 661 It is a frequent custom to reserve a purely nominal rent such as a peppercorn though this is not strictly necessary.
c. figurative. A thing of very small value or importance; a token, a trifling amount.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little importance or trivial
gnatc1000
ball play?c1225
smalla1250
triflec1290
fly1297
child's gamec1380
motec1390
mitec1400
child's playc1405
trufferyc1429
toyc1450
curiosity1474
fly-winga1500
neither mass nor matins1528
boys' play1538
nugament1543
knack?1544
fable1552
nincety-fincety1566
mouse1584
molehill1590
coot1594
scoff1594
nidgery1611
pin matter1611
triviality1611
minuity1612
feathera1616
fillip1621
rattle1622
fiddlesticka1625
apex1625
rush candle1628
punctilio1631
rushlight1635
notchet1637
peppercorn1638
petty John1640
emptiness1646
fool-fangle1647
nonny-no1652
crepundian1655
fly-biting1659
pushpin1660
whinny-whanny1673
whiffle1680
straw1692
two and a plack1692
fiddle1695
trivial1715
barley-strawa1721
nothingism1742
curse1763
nihility1765
minutia1782
bee's knee1797
minutiae1797
niff-naff1808
playwork1824
floccinaucity1829
trivialism1830
chicken feed1834
nonsensical1842
meemaw1862
infinitesimality1867
pinfall1868
fidfad1875
flummadiddle1882
quantité négligeable1885
quotidian1902
pipsqueak1905
hickey1909
piddle1910
cream puff1920
squat1934
administrivia1937
chickenshit1938
cream puff1938
diddly-squat1963
non-issue1965
Tinkertoy1972
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little worth
ivy-leafc1000
needle?c1225
sloec1250
peasea1275
strawc1290
bean1297
nutc1300
buttonc1330
leekc1330
trifle1375
cress1377
goose-wing1377
sop1377
niflec1395
vetcha1400
a pin's head (also point)c1450
trump1513
plack1530
toy1530
blue point1532
grey groat1546
cherry-stone1607
jiggalorum1613
candle-enda1625
peppercorn1638
sponge1671
sneeshing1686
snottera1689
catchpenny1705
potato1757
snuff1809
pinhead1828
traneen1837
a hill of beans1863
gubbins1918
1638 J. Clarke Phraseologia Puerilis 333 This peppercorn of acknowledgement.
1646 D. Evance Noble Order 31 You can never have a firme possession, till you hold your Honours in this title, that God bestowes them, and untill you give a Pepper corne of honour unto God.
1780 W. Cowper Table Talk 110 While they live, the courtly laureat pays His quit-rent ode, his pepper-corn of praise.
a1797 H. Walpole Mem. George III (1845) II. xii. 260 He had rather have a peppercorn to acknowledge our sovereignty, than millions paid into the Treasury without it.
?1826 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1952) X. 595 Give him another peppercorn or two just by way of encouraging the lead trade.
1967 Listener 17 Aug. 195/1 If a peppercorn of the vast sums being used to develop TV were devoted to the needs of radio news great steps could be made.
1997 N.Y. Law Jrnl. (Nexis) 19 Dec. 25 The fourth, at most, gives a peppercorn of preference to Stern.
2. South African. figurative. Any of the tightly curled tufts in which the hair of the Khoesan people characteristically grows. Usually in plural. Also peppercorn hair.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair
roll1538
puff1601
Tuscan-top1602
cock-up1692
turban1727
bird's nest1730
rooter1840
coxcomb1843
roach1872
flop1900
Buster Brown1904
peppercorn1910
upsweep1946
bouffant1955
beehive1960
Prince Valiant1964
blow-dry1966
Mary Stuart1966
bouffy1970
Mohawk haircut1979
Mohican1983
fauxhawk2000
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. S. Afr. 379 The Bushman and the Hottentots are exceptions,..[the hair] springs from the scalp in tufts with bare spaces between, and when the crop is short, resembles a number of black peppercorns stuck on the skin.]
1910 D. Fairbridge That which hath Been xvii. 200 In the place of hair small pepper-corns were scattered over his head.
1968 D. J. Opperman Spirit of Vine 251 Kok's face is described in minute detail as looking like ‘old biltong’ with ‘peppercorns of ash-grey hair and with little watery eyes’.
1978 A. Brink Rumours of Rain 225 A big, flabby man with an infinitely sad face... Behind him stood his Black helper, an old man with greying peppercorns.
2010 K. L. Seegers tr. D. Meyer 13 Hours i. 7 His peppercorn hair was cut short and shaved in sharp angles, goatee impeccably clipped.
3. Australian. In full peppercorn tree. The California pepper tree, Schinus molle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular tree or plant yielding useful gum or resin > [noun] > of South America or West Indies > Peruvian mastic tree
pepper tree1563
molle1581
Indian mastic1640
pepper1889
peppercorn shrub1901
peppercorn1954
1954 Coast to Coast 1953–4 76 Who do you think we see sittin' under a pepper-corn tree but this old sundowner.
1984 Sun (Sydney) 2 Oct. 18/2 If the meat has a scented taste, most probably the lambs were eating peppercorns, which are grown as shade trees on many western properties.
1996 S. Woolfe Leaning towards Infinity (1998) 78 This inevitability I now saw we were racing towards, the betrayal under the peppercorn trees.
B. adj.
1. Of the size or value of a peppercorn; very small, insignificant, trifling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small or trifling in amount or degree
eathlyc890
littleOE
slender1530
foolish1533
triflinga1538
paltry1565
puny?1594
mean1599
minikin1617
unconsiderable1643
inconsiderable1648
punctilio1660
sneaking1703
insignificant1748
flimsy1756
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
microscopic1798
pindling1861
midget1879
diddly1893
scroddyc1909
chickenshit1934
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
1791 ‘P. Pindar’ Remonstrance 7 Not pepper-corn acknowledgment I owe 'em.
1860 R. W. Emerson Worship in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 183 After their peppercorn aims are gained, it seems as if the lime in their bones alone held them together.
1879 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Austral. Grazier's Guide (1914) I. i. 24 The Crown rent is a peppercorn payment.
1995 Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard 23 Sept. 4/2 If they have difficulty with a Secretary they can always employ one at a peppercorn wage that would be agreed.
2003 Australian (Nexis) 22 Oct. 39 Fresh from selling MIM and BRL for little more than peppercorn prices, institutions know that..Mayne..will be a target for a US takeover.
2. South African. figurative. Having or designating hair that grows in tightly curled tufts resembling peppercorns. See sense A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [adjective] > curly
crispc900
crullc1300
curledc1380
crispy1398
crispedc1400
encrispedc1420
lockeredc1440
locker?a1500
curly1774
tendrilled1806
kinky1844
ruffly1859
buckling1861
peppercorn1868
1868 J. Chapman Trav. Interior S. Afr. i. i. 16 Bushmen with peppercorn heads.
1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.-E. Afr. 107 High cheek-bones, oblique eyes, and peppercorn hair.
1935 L. G. Green Great Afr. Myst. x. 121 Reconstructions of these bones suggested that the Strandloopers were never more than five feet in height. Some authorities declare they had peppercorn hair.
2002 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 10 Dec. a14/5 Their physical features—short stature, dark skin, peppercorn hair and large buttocks—are characteristic of African Pygmies.
Compounds
C1.
peppercorn-sized adj.
ΚΠ
1881 Amer. Homœopathist 7 255/1 Certain parts—as the nates, and the extensor surfaces of the knee and elbow—were thickly strewn with sago to peppercorn-sized xanthelasma tubercles.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 592 It is miliary to pepper-corn sized.
1986 Science 13 June 1380/2 Many legume species have on their roots peppercorn-sized swellings.
2019 J. Dunkley Our Universe i. 28 Mercury would be ten paces from the Sun in this model, and peppercorn-sized Venus nineteen.
C2. † peppercorn shrub n. Australian Obsolete rare = mountain pepper n. 3.
peppercorn bush n. any of several bushes that grow any kind of peppercorns or pepper substitute.Quot 1948 is alluding to a scattering of bushes resembling peppercorn hair (see sense A. 2).
ΚΠ
1948 H. V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. viii. 251 The greyish-brown plain..was dotted with small peppercorn bushes like a Hottentot's hair.
1979 P. Bodo Inside Tennis iii. 132 The first court upon which Evonne stroked a tennis ball was a bed of parched red earth surrounded by rusted shells of automobiles and peppercorn bushes.
2011 A. Cottrell & J. McNichols Urban Farm Handbk. viii. 165/2 I grow four kinds of apples, two kinds of cherries, a plum, a white table grape, asparagus, reseeding wild greens, a tea plant, a peppercorn bush.
peppercorn rent n. a rent of a peppercorn, a nominal rent (see sense A. 1b); also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > hire or rent > rent (land or real property) > [noun] > nominal
peppercorn1577
peppercorn rent1582
blanch farm1598
1582 in A. H. Smith et al. Papers N. Bacon of Stiffkey (1983) II. 210 Nathaniell shall lease his moiety of the lands..to James for seven years..for a peppercorn rent.
1700 S. Parker Homer in Nutshell Ep. Ded. Our Tribute's but a Peppercorn-rent.
1844 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 755/2 Church roofs new slated, at the cost and charge of the people who do not go to church:—and they call that paying a peppercorn rent to God.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 107/1 Burlington House..was granted to the Academy for 999 years at a peppercorn rent.
2003 Evening News (Edinburgh) (Nexis) 19 May 17 The centre..currently pays the council a peppercorn rent to use the former high school.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular tree or plant yielding useful gum or resin > [noun] > of South America or West Indies > Peruvian mastic tree
pepper tree1563
molle1581
Indian mastic1640
pepper1889
peppercorn shrub1901
peppercorn1954
1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career i. 1 The stringybark roof of the salt-shed..peeped out picturesquely from the musk and peppercorn shrubs.
Derivatives
ˈpeppercornish adj. of very small value; (also) = peppercorny adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small or trifling in amount or degree
eathlyc890
littleOE
slender1530
foolish1533
triflinga1538
paltry1565
puny?1594
mean1599
minikin1617
unconsiderable1643
inconsiderable1648
punctilio1660
sneaking1703
insignificant1748
flimsy1756
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
microscopic1798
pindling1861
midget1879
diddly1893
scroddyc1909
chickenshit1934
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
1762 J. Hall-Stevenson Crazy Tales 24 First his acknowledgment being paid, A pepper-cornish kind of due.
1907 Truth 27 Nov. 1320/2 A few of the canvases that most struck my imagination—among them..a very Peppercornish Peppercorn,..a first-rate John Lavery.
1969 G. B. Woodin All you need to know about Herbs & Spices 7 The allspice tree, a shiny-leaved evergreen plant of the myrtle family..bears a brownish, peppercornish berry.
2001 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 27 June (Today) 4 Big fishnets (Witchery's got the goods here, at comparatively peppercornish prices).
ˈpeppercorny adj. of the nature or size of a peppercorn; resembling a peppercorn; tasting or smelling like peppercorns.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [adjective] > resembling pepper > resembling peppercorn
peppercorny1860
1860 C. Dickens Great Expectations viii, in All Year Round 29 Dec. 265/1 Of a peppercorny and farinaceous character.
2015 E. Werner et al. Hartwood 48/1 If the clove-like sweetness of this dried berry seems familiar, that's because it's allspice—albeit more dusty and peppercorny than what you get in the States.
2016 B. Nesto & F. Di Savino Chianti Classico x. 220 The wine has a deep, brilliant yellow color, an unusually mushroomy, peppercorny, late-harvest dried-tropical-fruit nose.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
pepper-corn
2. spec. The small hard seed or fruit of a plant; now only with contextual specification or defining attribute, as in barley-corn, pepper-corn, etc.
extracted from cornn.1 a. A seed of one of the cereals, as of wheat, rye, barley, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > a single grain
cornc1000
grainc1380
pickle1552
rice grain1763
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 24 Hwætene corn [1382 Wyclif corn of whete; so 1611; 1881 grain of wheat] wunað ana buton hyt fealle on eorþan & sy dead.
a1175 Cotton Hom. 241 Þis bread was imaced of ane hwete corne.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 191 Ha breken þe eares bi þe wei & gnudden þe cornes bitweonen hare honden.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 62 Þe weiȝte of þre cornys of wheete.
1496 Act 12 Hen. VII c. 5 Every Sterling to be of the Weight of xxxij Corns of Wheat that grew in the Midst of the Ear.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. viiiv The cornes be very great & white, and it is the best barley.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Socrates in Panoplie Epist. 228 The ant..was occupied in gathering wheat cornes together.
1738 G. Smith Curious Relations II. v. 63 Suppose that 1 Corn produces the first Year 50 Corns.
c1842 E. J. Lance Cottage Farmer 11 The ears had ninety corns each on an average.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 185 (Malting) A sprouted corn or two.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 185 (Malting) Broken and bruised corns.
b. The seed or fruit of various other plants, as of an apple, a grape, pepper, coffee, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > [noun]
corna700
kernelc1000
seedOE
grain1377
pippina1382
acinusa1398
acine1597
seedling1675
vegetable egg1675
seedlet1754
pip1773
oilseed1887
a700 Epinal Gloss. 790 Ptysones, berecorn berendæ.
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xv Se æppel..monig corn oninnan him hæfð.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 74 Ȝenim..xvii pipor corn gnid to somne.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xiii. 31 The kyngdam of heuenes is like to a corn of seneuey.
1486 Bk. St. Albans C v a Take..the cornes of sporge and grinde it weell.
1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 24 Juniper whereon are manye berryes or cornes.
1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health cxxii. 108 A few cornes of blacke pepper.
1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick 98 Swallow five or six corns of White Pepper.
1876 S. D. Scott To Jamaica & Back 104 Each [coffee] berry contains two corns.. The corns slide through into other troughs of water.
<
n.adj.eOEas lemmas
- ganglion globule
- ganglion-blocking
- ganglionary
- ganglionated
- ganglionblocking
- ganglionectomy
- ganglionic
- ganglionic blocking
- ganglionic mass
- ganglionized
- ganglionless
- ganglionopathy
- ganglions
- gangliopathic
- gangliopathy
- ganglioside
- gangliosides
- gallows-brood
- gallows-buttons
- gallows-clapper
- gallows-climber
- gallows-face
- gallows-faced
- gallows-foot
- gallows-frame