Capsicum may be named for its hollow box-shape (Latin capsa) or its biting taste (Greek kapto) — and it spread from Mexico to India faster than almost any food in history.
A genus of plants in the nightshade family producing peppers, from sweet bell peppers to fiery habaneros. Also the fruit itself.
From New Latin Capsicum, possibly from Latin capsa (box, case) referring to the hollow, box-like shape of the fruit, or from Greek kapto (to bite, gulp down) referring to the pepper's pungent bite Key roots: capsa (Latin: "box, case"), kapto (Greek: "to bite, gulp down").
Capsicum peppers produce capsaicin — the molecule responsible for their burn — which triggers pain receptors without causing actual tissue damage. The Scoville scale, developed by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912, measures this heat. Pure capsaicin scores 16 million Scoville units. Capsicums originated in the Americas and were among the first plants cultivated