I agree with Rick's first statement. While my first instinct was similar to the rest that Rick wrote, Merriam-Webster and OED think differently: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chilli M-W recognizes "chile" and "chilli" as variaants of "chili".
OED, which has a tendency to be somewhat biased towards British usage, (or at least show both), has the main article that is for "chilli | chilly" ... which they define as "The dried pod of species of Capsicum or Red Pepper, esp. C. Annuum gastigiatum and frutescens". Then, in compounds they have different variants in different phrases: "chili pepper n, (a) = PEPPER TREE ;.." and then "... (b) erron. = CHILLI n". Also: chilli con carne n. (also chile con carne, chili con carne) (orig. U.S.) chilli sauce n. (usu. chili sauce) (chiefly U.S.) chilli-vinegar And some draft additions for the latest versions of the dictionary (1993-2007): chiles rellenos n. [Mexican Spanish: relleno = filled, stuffed] orig. U.S. (pl.) chilli powder n. (usu. chili powder) chilli dog n. N. Amer. a hot dog topped with a serving of chilli con carne. Overall, "chile/chille" - seems to be the original word, as it came from Spanish (to which it came from Central American Indian language in the 16th century.) Other variants are results of adaptation into English and its dialects. OED shows the centuries when various forms appeared: 16 chille, 16-18 chile, 17 chilly, 18 chili, 16 chilli. Brian, I hope this linguistic excursion answers a part of your question. Ann has already written that these peppers were stored that way (dried), and until being eaten would serve as a decoration. I wouldn't be surprised that in modern days some people use them only as decorations. Igor Tue Sep 10 11:05:47 EDT 2013 Rick Womer wrote: Beautiful shot. A chili is a pepper. Chile is the South American country (pronounced "chee-lay"). Chilly is what it is not in Philly today. Cheers, Rick http://photo.net/photos/RickW ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Walters <apathyman at lyons-ryan.org> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <pdml at pdml.net> Cc: Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 9:21 AM Subject: PESO - Big Chile G'day all, Another one from Santa Fe. These big bunches of chile* are common on the fronts of many houses in the south-west. I couldn't figure out if they were just decorative or whether there was some superstition of spiritual purpose. Does anyone know? http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1370864/PESO/slides/_IGP2141-K5-1peso.html Comments appreciated. * In Australia we generally use the spelling 'chilli', but 'chile' seems to be correct in New Mexico. -- Cheers Brian -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
