caper2

 
Pronunciation: /ˈkeɪpə/

noun

  • 1 (usually capers) the cooked and pickled flower bud of a bramble-like southern European shrub, used to flavour food: add capers and olives
  • 2the shrub from which capers are taken.
    • Capparis spinosa, family Capparidaceae

Origin:

late Middle English: from French câpres or Latin capparis, from Greek kapparis; later interpreted as plural, hence the loss of the final -s in the 16th century