also pepsine, "fermin found in gastric juice, used medicinally for cases of indigestion," 1844, coined in German (Theodor Schwann, 1835) from Greek pepsis "digestion; a cooking," from stem pep- (see peptic) + -in (2).
pepperoni
pepper-pot
peppery
peppy
Pepsi-Cola
pepsin
peptic
peptide
peptone
*per-
per-