Favism
/ˈfeɪ.vɪz.əm/noun
A potentially severe hemolytic reaction caused by eating fava beans, especially in people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.
Did you know?Fava beans were famously taboo to Pythagoreans, and centuries later medicine discovered that they can trigger life-threatening hemolysis in susceptible people.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (reconstructed)
PIE
*bhabha-
“A reconstructed word associated with the bean or fava bean; its exact form and history remain uncertain.”
Classical Latin
Latin
fāba
“Bean, especially the broad or fava bean.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
fāva
“A variant form of Latin fāba, meaning fava bean.”
Medieval Romance
Italian
fava
“Fava or broad bean; this form helped supply later scientific and medical vocabulary.”
Late 19th Century
English
favism
“A medical term for illness caused by eating fava beans, particularly the associated hemolytic reaction.”
Modern English
English
favism
“Fava-bean-induced hemolysis, most strongly associated with inherited G6PD deficiency.”