Etymology
From spice + -y, attested since the 16th century.
Adjective
spicy (comparative spicier, superlative spiciest)
- Of, pertaining to, or containing spice.
He prepared a spicy casserole.
- (informal, of flavors) Provoking a burning sensation due to the presence of capsaicin.
This curry is too spicy for me. I can't eat it.
- (of foods, flavors, or odors) Tangy, zesty, or pungent.
She breathed in the strong, spicy aroma.
1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:The breath of the mountain heifer was fragrant as the gales of Sirendiep, by feeding on ſpicy herbs.
- (of expression or behavior) Vigorous; colorful; stimulating.
He is known for his spicy political commentary.
- Scandalous.
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:When one side or the other had written any particularly spicy dispatch, news of it was sure to slip out.
- (Internet slang) Risky; mildly aggressive or dangerous.
Look at the little wildcub! That's one spicy ball of fur.
- (Internet slang) Risqué, sexy, racy; mildly pornographic.
I don't want my children to see the spicy images on this web site.
Synonyms
- (provoking a burning sensation): hot, spicy-hot, piquant
Translations
containing spice
- Arabic: مُتَبَّل (mutabbal)
- Hijazi Arabic: مُتَبَّل (mutabbal)
- Armenian: կծու (hy) (kcu)
- Azerbaijani: ədviyyatlı, ədviyyəli
- Belarusian: во́стры (be) (vóstry)
- Bulgarian: подправен (bg) (podpraven)
- Burmese: စပ် (my) (cap)
- Catalan: especiat
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 辣 (laat6)
- Hokkien: 薟/莶 (zh-min-nan) (hiam)
- Mandarin: 辣 (zh) (là)
- Dutch: gekruid (nl), kruidig (nl)
- Finnish: mausteinen (fi), maustettu (fi)
- French: épicé (fr)
- Georgian: ცხარე (cxare)
- German: würzig (de), gewürzt (de), pikant (de)
- Greek: καρυκευμένος (el) m (karykevménos), πικάντικος (el) m (pikántikos)
- Hebrew: מתובל m (metubál)
- Hungarian: fűszeres (hu)
- Icelandic: sterkur (is), kryddaður
- Isan: please add this translation if you can
- Italian: speziato (it)
- Japanese: 辛い (ja) (からい, karai)
- Khmer: ហឹរ (km) (haə)
- Korean: 맵다 (ko) (maepda)
- Kyrgyz: ачуу (ky) (acuu), өткүр (ky) (ötkür)
- Lao: ເຜັດ (phet)
- Latin: acutus (la)
- Lü: ᦵᦕᧆ (ṗhed)
- Macedonian: зачинет (začinet)
- Malay: berempah
- Maori: puhahana
- Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
- Persian: تند (fa) (tond)
- Polish: pikantny (pl)
- Portuguese: temperado (pt), condimentado (pt)
- Romanian: condimentat (ro), asezonat (ro)
- Russian: пря́ный (ru) (prjányj), о́стрый (ru) (óstryj)
- Scottish Gaelic: spìosrach
- Shan: please add this translation if you can
- Spanish: condimentado (es), aliñado (es), (having a sharp flavor) picante (es), sazonado (es), aromático (es)
- Swedish: kryddig (sv), kryddstark (sv)
- Tamil: please add this translation if you can
- Tangut: 𘟋 (*zar¹)
- Thai: เผ็ด (th) (pèt)
- Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
- Turkish: baharatlı (tr), baharlı (tr)
- Tutong: pelos
- Ukrainian: пря́ний (prjányj), го́стрий (uk) (hóstryj)
- Vietnamese: có gia vị (vi)
- Welsh: sbeisiog, sbeislyd (cy)
- White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
- Yiddish: בשׂמימדיק (besomemdik)
- Zazaki: tun (diq)
- Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
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providing a burning sensation due to chilies and other spices
tangy or pungent
- Arabic: حِرِّيف (ḥirrīf)
- Armenian: կծու (hy) (kcu)
- Azerbaijani: ədviyyəli
- Belarusian: во́стры (be) (vóstry)
- Bulgarian: лют (bg) (ljut)
- Burmese: စပ် (my) (cap), မာလာ (my) (mala)
- Catalan: picant (ca)
- Chamicuro: chawa
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 辣 (laat6)
- Mandarin: 辣 (zh) (là)
- Czech: ostrý (cs), pikantní
- Dutch: pikant (nl)
- Estonian: pikantne
- Finnish: pistävä (fi)
- French: épicé (fr), piquant (fr), pimenté (fr)
- Georgian: please add this translation if you can
- German: scharf (de) (hot), würzig (de) (herbal)
- Greek: αψύς (el) m (apsýs)
- Hindi: मसालेदार (hi) (masāledār), तीखा (hi) (tīkhā)
- Hungarian: fűszeres (hu)
- Indonesian: pedas (id)
- Irish: láidir
- Isan: please add this translation if you can
- Italian: piccante (it)
- Japanese: 辛い (ja) (からい, karai), スパイシー (supaishī)
- Khmer: ហឹរ (km) (haə)
- Korean: 맵다 (ko) (maepda)
- Lao: ເຜັດ (phet)
- Latvian: ass (lv)
- Lithuanian: aštrus
- Lü: ᦵᦕᧆ (ṗhed)
- Macedonian: лут (lut), пика́нтен (pikánten)
- Malay: please add this translation if you can
- Maori: pūhahana
- Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
- Polish: ostry (pl), pikantny (pl)
- Portuguese: apimentado (pt), picante (pt)
- Quechua: haya, jaya
- Romanian: picant (ro)
- Russian: о́стрый (ru) (óstryj), пря́ный (ru) (prjányj)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: љут
- Roman: ljut (sh)
- Shan: please add this translation if you can
- Slovak: ostrý
- Slovene: pekoč
- Spanish: picante (es)
- Swedish: skarp (sv), stark (sv), pikant (sv)
- Tagalog: maanghang
- Tamil: please add this translation if you can
- Thai: เผ็ด (th) (pèt)
- Tibetan: ཁ་ཚ་པོ (kha tsha po)
- Turkish: çeşnili (tr)
- Ukrainian: го́стрий (uk) (hóstryj), пря́ний (prjányj)
- Vietnamese: cay (vi)
- Welsh: sbeislyd (cy)
- White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
- Zhuang: manh
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Translations to be checked
See also
More information Basic tastes in English (layout · text) ...
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References
- spicy in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
- “spicy”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- "spicy" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
- “spicy”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
- Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)