Chickpea
/ˈtʃɪk.piː/noun
A legume with round beige seeds, widely used in cooking and also called garbanzo.
Did you know?The English word comes through French and Old English from Latin cicer, the same root behind the Roman name Cicero, which likely began as a nickname tied to a chickpea-like bump.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kekero-
“likely an ancestral root meaning a pea or vetch-like legume”
Latin
Latin
cicer
“chickpea”
Late Latin
Latin
cicer
“chickpea”
Old French
Old French
chiche
“chickpea”
Middle English
English
chiche pease
“chickpea”
Modern English
English
chickpea
“a chickpea”