Szechuan pepper

A form of Sichuan pepper — The outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. Not closely related to black pepper or to chilli peppers.

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Meanings

nounSzechuan pepper (countable and uncountable, plural Szechuan peppers)

plural Szechuan peppers

  1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of Sichuan pepper.
    1 more example

    Some people in Asia during pre-Columbian times also made use of the seeds of the plants Zanthoxylum simulans and Eanthoxylum bungeanum, now known as Szechuan pepper. Szechuan peppercorns evoke a tingling, numbing sensation produced by its active ingredient, alpha-sanshool. Like black pepper, Szechuan pepper is chemically and experientially distinct from chili pepper.

    2015, David J. Linden, Touch: The Science of the Sense that Makes us Human, Penguin Random House, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 232–233
Cite this entry
APA

Szechuan pepper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Szechuan%20pepper

MLA

“Szechuan pepper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Szechuan%20pepper. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Szechuan pepper,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Szechuan%20pepper.

Source: Szechuan pepper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.