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Vinony

capsaicin

noun

  1. the substance in certain capsicums that gives them their hot taste and that is a strong irritant to skin and mucous membranes and is used in some topical pain relievers and in pepper sprays
L1457991 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /kæpˈseɪəsən/ / /kæpˈseɪsən/

noun

Etymology: Arbitrary alteration of earlier capsicine, capsicin (“material extracted from cayenne pepper”), presumably to prevent confusion, from German Capsicin, from New Latin capsicum + German -in. Name introduced by John Clough Thresh (1850–1932) in “Capsaicin, the Active Principle of Capsicum Fruits”.

  1. A chemical compound found in chilli peppers, which is responsible for their piquancy.