Bean
/biːn/noun
The edible seed of several plants in the legume family, or the plant that produces it.
Did you know?Bean is one of the oldest inherited English plant words, tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a prehistoric Indo-European root for a pulse or legume, long before modern English existed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰā- / *bʰeh₂-
“A prehistoric root associated with growing or sprouting, reflected in plant-related words in several languages.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*baunō
“Bean, legume.”
Old English
English
bēan
“Bean, the seed of certain plants.”
Middle English
English
bene / bean
“Bean; the edible seed of the bean plant.”
Modern English
English
bean
“The edible seed of a legume or the plant that bears it.”