chili

Where does the word "chili" come from? It comes from Nahuatl chilli, passing through Spanish before entering English (1600s).

Chili’s story begins in Nahuatl: chilli meant “chili pepper.” The Nahuatl name for the hot pepper. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as chile. Spanish writers kept the Nahuatl name, though Columbus had called the pods 'pimiento', pepper. It reached English by 1600s as chili. Texas 'chili con carne' made the word a dish name in the 1800s. Today, chili means a hot-tasting pepper, or a spicy dish made with peppers and meat or beans.

1. Stage 1 · Nahuatl · pre-1500s chilli "chili pepper", the Nahuatl name for the hot pepper.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1500s chile "chili pepper", Spanish writers kept the Nahuatl name, though Columbus had called the pods 'pimiento', pepper.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s chili "the hot pepper, or a dish made with it", Texas 'chili con carne' made the word a dish name in the 1800s.