Fève
/fɛv/noun
A bean, especially a broad bean, or the small figurine traditionally hidden inside a French Twelfth-Night cake.
Did you know?In the French galette des rois, the hidden fève originally was a real dried bean before porcelain figurines became customary; whoever found it had to choose a royal partner.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhabh-
“A reconstructed root associated with beans or bean-like plants; the precise derivation is debated.”
Classical Latin
Latin
faba
“Bean, especially the broad bean.”
Old French
Old French
feve
“Bean; descended from Latin faba through regular sound change.”
12th–13th Century
French
fève
“Bean, with the grave accent marking the modern French spelling.”
19th–20th Century
English
fève
“A French culinary and cultural loanword, especially the bean or figurine hidden in a galette des rois.”