pepper-and-salt 
II. n. The plant harbinger-of-spring : so 
named from the mixture of white petals and 
dark stamens in its umbels. 
pepper-bottle (pep'er-bot"!), . Same as pep- 
per-caster, 1. 
pepper-box (pep'er-boks), n. A small box with 
a perforated lid, used for sprinkling pulverized 
pepper on food. 
He cannot creep into a halfpenny purse, nor into a pep- 
per-box. Shak., NI. W. of W., ill. 5. 149. 
pepper-bush (pep'er-bush), . See Clethra. 
pepper-cake (pep'er-kak), n. [= D. peperkoek 
= MLG.peperkolce = G.pfefferkuchen=Svf.pep- 
parkaka = Dan. peberkagc.] A kind of spiced 
cake or gingerbread. 
pepper-caster (pep'er-kas"ter), n. 1. That one 
of the casters of a cruet-stand which is made to 
contain pepper. 2. An early and clumsy form 
of modern revolver, in which the cylinder was 
made very long in order to fill the place of a 
barrel, and which was consequently very heavy. 
The word is sometimes used as a slang term for 
any revolver. 
Badger and I would trudge to our room arm in arm, 
carrying our money in a shot-bag between us, and each 
armed with a Colt's patent pepper-caster. 
J. Jefferson, Autobiog. , ii. 
peppercorn (pep'er-korn). n. and a. [< ME. 
"pepercorn, < AS. piporcorn, pipercorn (= D. pe- 
perkorrel=WLG.peperkorn= MHG.phefferkorn, 
Qt. pfefferkorn = Icel. piparkorn = Sw. peppar- 
korn = Dan.peberkorn), \pipor, pepper, + corn, 
corn: seepepper andcornl.] 1. n. 1. The ber- 
ry or fruit of the pepper-plant. Hence 2. A 
small particle ; an insignificant quantity ; some- 
thing of inconsiderable value. 
An I have not forgotten what the inside of a church is 
made of, I am a peppercorn. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 3. 9. 
They that enjoy most of the world have most of it but 
in title, and supreme rights, and reserved privileges, pep- 
percorns, homages, trifling services and acknowledgments. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, iv. 8. 
While they live the courtly laureat pays 
His quit-rent ode, his peppercorn of praise. 
Cowper, Table-Talk, 1. 110. 
II. a. Of trifling or inconsiderable value or 
consequence. 
How great a language to convey such peppercorn infor- 
mations ! Emerson, Misc., p. 33. 
Peppercorn rent, a nominal rent. 
pepper-cress (pep'er-kres), n. See cress. 
pepper-crop (pep'er-krop), n. The wall-pep- 
per. 
pepper-dulse (pep'er-duls), . A seaweed, 
Laurencia pinnatifida, which possesses pungent 
qualities : sometimes eaten in Scotland. 
pepper-elder (pep'er-el"der), n. A plant of the 
genus Pepcromia. 
pepperer (pep'er-er), n. [< pepper + -erl.] If. 
One who deals in pepper ; hence, a grocer. 
In the nineteenth year of Edward III. (A. D. 1345), a part 
of the Pepperers had separated themselves from their old 
Gild, and had formed a society of their own. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), Int., p. cxxiii. 
The pepperer formed an important member of the com- 
munity in England during the Middle Ages, when a large 
proportion of the food consumed was salted meat, and pep- 
per was in high request as a seasoner. 
S. Dowell, Taxes in England, IV. 35. 
On June 12, 1345, a number of pepperers, as the grocers 
were then styled, met together at dinner by agreement. 
The Century, XXXVII. 12. 
2. A person of a hot, peppery temper. Dickens. 
[Colloq. or humorous.] 
pepperette (pep'er-et), n. [< pepper + -ette, af- 
ter P. poivrette, < poivre, pepper, + -ette.] The 
ash obtained by burning the pits or stones of 
olives. It is used as an adulterant for ground 
pepper. Also called poivrette. 
pepper-gingerbread (pep'er-jm"jer-bred), n. 
Hot-spiced gingerbread. 
Leave "in sooth," 
And such protest of pepper-gingerbread, 
To velvet-guards and Sunday-citizens. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 1. 260. 
peppergrass (pep'er-gras), . 1. Any plant of 
the genus Lepidium. The garden-peppergrass is L. 
salimm, used as a cress : called garden-crew, etc. The 
wild peppergrass is L. Virginicwm. See cress and vemer- 
wort. 
2. The pillwort, Pilularia globulifera. SeeKfa- 
laria and pillwort. 
pepperidge (pep'er-ij), n. 1. See piperidge. 
2. The black-gum, sour-gum, or tupelo. See 
black-gum and Nyssa. Also piperidge, 
pepperiness (pep'er-i-nes), n. A hot or pep- 
pery quality. 
peppering (pep'er-ing), p. a. [Ppr. of pepper, 
*'.] Hot; pungent; angry. 
4384 
I sent him a peppering letter, . . . nor ever will have 
anything to say to him till he begs my pardon. 
Sinfl, Journal to Stella, March 27, 1711. 
pepper-mill (pep'er-mil), n. [= D. pepermolen 
= MLG. pepermole = MHG. pfeffermill, G. pfef- 
femiiiJile.] A utensil in which peppercorns are 
put and ground by turning a handle. 
peppermint (pep'er-mint), . [= D.pepermunt 
= LG. peperminte = G.pfeffermunze = Sw. pep- 
permynta = Dan. pebermynte; as pepper + 
mint 1 .] 1. The herb Mentha piperita, native 
in Europe, naturalized in the United States, and 
often cultivated. It is notable chiefly for its 
aromatic pungent oil, which is often distilled. 
See Mentlia. 2. The oil of peppermint, or some 
preparation of it. Peppermint is used to flavor con- 
fectionery, and in medicine, often in the form of an es- 
sence or water, as a stimulant, carminative, etc., and to 
qualify other medicines. See oil of peppermint, under oil. 
3. A lozenge or confection flavored with pep- 
permint Australian peppermint, Mentha austra- 
lis. Small peppermint, a Spanish plant, Thymus Pi- 
perella. 
peppermint-camphor (pep'er-mint-kam"for), 
n. Same as menthol. 
peppermint-drop (pep'er-mint-drop), n. A con- 
fection flavored with peppermint. 
Peppermint-drops are made of granulated sugar. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., XXXII. 785. 
peppermint-tree (pep'er-mint-tre), n. One of 
three species of Eucalyptus E. amygdalina, E. 
piperita, m& E. odorata. All are Australian; the 
first, sometimes called white or broipn peppermint-tree, is 
also Tasmanian. The name is doubtless from their aro- 
matic foliage. 
pepper-moth (pep'er-moth), n. A geometrid 
moth of Great Britain, Amphidasis betitlaria : so 
called from its dingy speckled coloration. 
peppernelt (pep'er-nel), n. [(pepper (?); term, 
not clear.] A lump or swelling. 
Now, beshrew my heart, but 'a has apeppernel in 's head, 
as big as a pullet's egg ! 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Burning Pestle, ii. 1. 
pepper-plant (pep'er-plant), . Any of the 
plants called pepper. 
pepper-pod (pep'er-pod), n. The pungent fruit 
of plants of the genus Capsicum. 
pepper-pot (pep'er-pot), n. 1. Same aspepper- 
box and pepper-caster. [Rare in U. S.] 2. A 
much-esteemed West Indian dish, the prin- 
cipal ingredient of which is cassareep, with 
flesh or dried fish and vegetables, chiefly the 
young green pods of the okra and chillies. 
See cassareep. 3. Tripe shredded and stewed, 
to the liquor of which small balls of dough are 
added, together with a high seasoning of pep- 
per. [Pennsylvania.] 
pepperquernt, n. [< ME. pepyrqwerne, pepir- 
wherne, peperquerne (= Dan. peberkvsern) ; < 
pepper + quern.] A mill for grinding pepper. 
Palsgrave. 
pepper-rod (pep'er-rod), n. A low euphorbia- 
ceous shrub of the West Indies, Croton Jiumilis. 
pepper-root (pep'er-r8t), n. Any plant of the 
genus Dentaria. 
pepper-sauce (pep'er-sas), . [= D.pepersaus; 
as pepper + sauce.] A condiment made by 
steeping red peppers in vinegar. 
pepper-saxifrage (pep'er-sak"si-fraj ), n. Same 
as meadow-saxifrage, 1. Also called meadow 
pepper-saxifrage. 
pepper-shrub (pep'er-shrub), n. Same as pep- 
per-tree. 
pepper-tree (pep'er-tre), n. 1. A shrub or 
small tree of the cashew family, Schinus Molle, 
native in South America and Mexico, and cul- 
tivated for ornament and shade in southern 
California and other warm dry climates. It is 
a fast-growing evergreen of graceful habit, having leaves 
with twenty or more pairs of leaflets, and greenish-white 
flowers in feathery panicles, which appear at all seasons, 
followed by pendent clusters of small red drupes. The 
latter are strongly pungent, whence the name. The leaves 
emit a pleasant resinous fragrance, and also exude a gum, 
whence the shrub is also called (Peruvian) mastic-tree. 
Thrown into water, the leaves appear to move spontane- 
ously, owing to the bursting of resin-glands. Also called 
pepper-shrub and Chili pepper. See Schinus. 
2. A shrub or small tree of the magnolia fam- 
ily, Drimys (Tasmannia) aromatica, of Victoria 
and Tasmania. Its bark has properties like those of 
D. Winteri, and its small globular berries serve as a sub- 
stitute for pepper. 
pepper- vine (pep'er-vm), re. 1. The common 
pepper-plant. 2. The Ampelopsis (Vitis) bi- 
pinnata, an upright scarcely twining shrub of 
the southern United States, having bipinuate 
leaves and small purplish-black berries. 
pepper-water (pep'er-wa"ter), . A liquor pre- 
pared from powdered black pepper, used in mi- 
croscopical observations. 
peptone 
pepperwood (pep'er-wud), H. 1. One of the 
toothache-trees, Xantlwxylum Clava-Herculis. 
2. See Licania. 3. The clove-cassia. See 
Cassia. 
pepperwort (pep'er-wert), >i. [<,pepper + worfl. 
Cf. D. pepertrortel.] 1. Any plant of the genus 
Lepidium; in England, especially, L. latifolium, 
the dittander. Mithridate pepperwort is the Euro- 
pean L. eampestre, of which the old name was mithridate 
mustard, so called because used in the preparation called 
mithridate. See dittander, 2, mithridate, and peppergrass. 
2. Any plant of the natural order Mursileacese. 
Lindley. 
peppery (pep' er-i), a. [<pepper + -/i.] 1. Of 
or pertaining to pepper; resembling pepper, as 
in appearance, taste, etc. ; sharp ; pungent ; 
hot: as, a peppery appearance. 2. Choleric; 
irritable ; warm; passionate ; sharp ; stinging : 
as, a peppery disposition ; a pepper ij answer. 
pepsin, pepsine (pep'sin), n. [< P pepsine, 
< Gr. TTEI/W, cooking, digestion (< TTEVTCIV, cook, 
digest : see peptic), + -zw 2 , -ie 2 .] The proteo- 
lytic ferment found in the gastric juice, in the 
presence of a weak acid it converts proteids into peptones, 
but in neutral or alkaline solutions it is inert. It is used 
in therapeutics, in a more or less pure state, in cases of 
indigestion, and as a solvent for diphtheritic membranes 
and other superficial necroses. 
pepsinate (pep'sin-at), v. t. ; pret. and pp. pep- 
sinated, ppr. pepsinating. [(pepsin + -ate 1 .] 
To prepare or mix with pepsin: as, pepsinated 
pills. Qxain, Med. Diet., p. 378. 
pepsiniferous (pep-si-nif'e-rus), a. [< pepsin 
+ L.ferre = E. bear 1 .] Producing pepsin. 
Pepsis (pep 'sis), n. [NL. (Fabricius, 1804), 
< Gr. ntyif, .cooking, digestion: see pepsin.] 
A genus of very large solitary wasps of the 
family Pompilidse. It has the prothorax shorter than 
the metathorax, rarely as long as the mesothorax ; head 
orbicular ; three submarginal cells ; and a long and narrow 
marginal cell, obtusely pointed :it ihc tip. The species are 
large enough to prey on tarantulas. P.formosa destroys 
the Texan tarantula, Mygale hentzi, and stores its burrow 
with the spider as food for its young. P. heros of Cuba is 
a sand-wasp two inches long, with a shining-black body, 
and wings bordered with reddish brown. 
peptic (pep'tik), a. and n. [< Gr. ire-KTiKof, con- 
ducive to digestion, < vtmetv, cook, digest, = 
L. coqnere, cook, digest: see cook 1 .] I. a. 1. 
Concerned in or pertaining to the function of 
digestion; specifically, pertaining to the pro- 
teolytic digestion of the stomach: as, peptic 
processes. 2. Promoting digestion ; dietetic: 
as, peptic substances or rules. 3. Able to di- 
gest ; having a good digestion ; not dyspep- 
tic. 
The whole not as dead stuff, but as living pabulum, tol- 
erably nutritive for a mind as yet so peptic. 
Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, ii. 3. 
Peptic cells, the parietal or oxyntic cells of the cardiac 
glands. Peptic glands. See gland. 
II. n. A peptic substance ; a digestive. 
peptical (pep'ti-kal), a. [<peptic + -al.] Same 
as peptic. 
pepticity (pep-tis'i-ti), n. [< peptic + -ity.] 
The state of being peptic; good digestion; 
eupepsia. 
A most cheery, jovial, buxom countenance, radiant with 
pepticity [and] good humour. Carlyle, Dr. J'rancia. 
peptics (pep'tiks), n. [PI. of peptic: see -ics.] 
1. The science or doctrine of digestion. 2. 
The digestive organs. [Colloq. or humorous.] 
Is there some magic in the place? 
Or do my peptics differ? 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
peptogaster (pep-to-gas'ter), n. [NL., < Gr. 
jr7rrett>, cook, digest, + yaarijp, the belly.] The 
intestinal tube, alimentary canal, or digestive 
tract proper, as distinguished from the pneo- 
gaster, or respiratory tract, which is an offset of 
the general intestinal system. It includes, how- 
ever, the urinary passages, and is divided into presogax- 
ter, mesoffaster, epigaster, and itrogaster. See these words. 
peptogastric (pep-to-gas'trik), a. [< pepto- 
gaster + -ic.] Of or pertaining to the pepto- 
gaster ; peptic or digestive, as the alimentary 
canal. 
peptogen (pep'to-jen), n. [< pepto(ne) + Gr. 
-yevf/f, producing : see -gen.] A substance capa- 
ble of producing peptone : a general name for 
preparations which are said to facilitate peptic 
digestion. 
peptogenic (pep-to-jen'ik), a. [< pept(ic), 
pepto(ne), + -gen + -ic.] Producing peptones : 
capable of converting proteids into peptones. 
peptogenous (pep-toj'e-nus), a. [< pept(ic), 
pepto(ne), + -genous.] Producing peptones. 
peptone (pep'ton),n. [<pept(ic) + -one.] The 
general name of a class of albuminoids into 
which the nitrogenous elements of food (such 
as albumin, fibrin, casein, etc.) are converted 
