peppercorn

/ˈpɛpəkɔːn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English peper corn, peper-corn, pepercorn, from Old English piporcorn (“peppercorn”), corresponding to pepper + corn. Compare Dutch peperkorrel (“peppercorn”), German Pfefferkorn (“peppercorn”), Danish peberkorn (“peppercorn”), Swedish pepparkorn (“peppercorn”), Icelandic piparkorn (“peppercorn”).

peppercorn means A surname. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.

name

A surname.

noun

The seeds of the pepper plant Piper nigrum, commonly used as a spice, usually ground or crushed.
A small, insignificant quantity; a whit or jot.“A 75 ¢ book must look 40 ¢ better to the distributor and wholesaler, because if one peppercorn of doubt that people will pay 75 ¢ for the book gets thrown into the distribution mill, the books may never leave their cartons […]”
A small, insignificant quantity; a whit or jot.; A nominal consideration used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract.“peppercorn rent”