# capsaicin

> English word · Noun · IPA /kæpˈseɪəsən/ · frequency rank #64,963

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

## 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”.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/capsaicin