|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
pimento
pimento or allspice, common names for a tree ( Pimenta dioica or P. officinalis ) of the family Myrtaceae ( myrtle family) cultivated in the West Indies for its dried unripe berries, used medicinally and as a spice (also called pimento or allspice). The spice supposedly combines the flavors of several other spices, hence the name; it is used chiefly in pickles and relishes. The leaves and berries yield an essential oil used for flavoring, e.g., in Benedictine and other liqueurs. In America the names pimento and allspice are also applied to plants of other families: pimento to the large, sweet Spanish pepper (Span. pimento ) of the nightshade family, and allspice to several aromatic shrubs, e.g., the Carolina allspice ( Calycanthus floridus ), a cultivated ornamental, and the wild allspice, or spicebush ( Lindera benzoin ), of the family Lauraceae (laurel family). Pimento is classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Myrtales, family Myrtaceae. |
|
|
Cite this article
"pimento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pimento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pimento.html "pimento." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pimento.html |
|
pimento
pi·men·to / pəˈmentō/ • n. (pl. -tos) 1. variant spelling of pimiento. 2. chiefly W. Indian another term for allspice (sense 2). |
|
|
Cite this article
"pimento." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pimento." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pimento.html "pimento." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pimento.html |
|
pimento
pimento Jamaica pepper or allspice, tree yielding this. XVII. — Sp. pimiento — L. pigmentum PIGMENT, in medL. spiced drink, (hence) spice, pepper.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "pimento." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pimento." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pimento.html T. F. HOAD. "pimento." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pimento.html |
|
pimento
pimento See allspice.
|
|
|
Cite this article
DAVID A. BENDER. "pimento." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "pimento." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-pimento.html DAVID A. BENDER. "pimento." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-pimento.html |
|