Fabaceae
/fəˈbeɪsiːiː/noun
A large family of flowering plants that includes beans, peas, lentils, clovers, and many trees and shrubs.
Did you know?Fabaceae includes plants associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, allowing many members to enrich soil while producing some of humanity’s oldest cultivated foods.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (proposed)
PIE
*bhabhā-
“A reconstructed term associated by some scholars with beans or swelling seeds; the connection is not completely certain.”
Ancient Latin
Latin
faba
“Bean, especially the broad bean or fava bean.”
Classical Botanical Latin
Latin
Faba
“A plant name based on Latin faba, used in scientific naming for bean-related plants.”
19th Century
Botanical Latin
Fabaceae
“The formal botanical family name formed from Faba with the family suffix -aceae.”
Modern English
English
Fabaceae
“The bean, pea, and legume family, commonly pronounced “fuh-BAY-see-ee” or “fuh-BAY-sh see-ee.””
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