A peppercorn is a single dried berry from the pepper plant, which grows on vines in tropical regions like India and Indonesia. When you see a pepper shaker on a dinner table, it's filled with ground peppercorns. These small, round berries start out green on the vine. If picked early and dried, they become black peppercorns. If the outer layer is removed, you get white peppercorns, which taste similar but look different.

Peppercorns were once so valuable that people used them almost like money. In medieval Europe, a pound of peppercorns could cost as much as a laborer's entire month's wages. Merchants traveled thousands of dangerous miles to trade them. Today they're common in every kitchen, but for centuries they were a luxury that helped drive exploration and shaped world history.

The term peppercorn rent refers to a token payment, practically nothing. If someone charges you a peppercorn rent for using their garage, they're asking for something symbolic rather than real money, since a single peppercorn is nearly worthless. The phrase captures how something once incredibly precious became so ordinary that one peppercorn means almost nothing at all.