paprika
n.n. a bright red powder made from dried peppers. You use it to add a sweet or spicy flavor to food like stews and soups.
n. a ground powder made from the dried pods of the Capsicum annuum plant, used as a spice and food coloring. Often used to describe the mild variety of the spice.
Add a pinch of paprika to the soup for color.
The chef sprinkled paprika over the roasted vegetables to give them a slightly smoky flavor.
While the mild variety of paprika is used for its vibrant color, the hotter varieties are often reserved for specific regional dishes where a sharp heat is desired.
Borrowed from Hungarian paprika, from Serbo-Croatian pàprika, from pȁpar, from Proto-Slavic *pьpьrь, from Latin piper, from Ancient Greek πέπερι (péperi, “pepper”), from Indo-Aryan; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). Akin to paprikash.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026