Bean (bēn), n. [OE. bene, AS.
beÁn; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG.
pōna, Icel. baun, Dan. bönne, Sw.
böna, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain
leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and
Dolichos; also, to the herbs.
☞ The origin and classification of many kinds are still doubtful.
Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean, included in
Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, D.
Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole
beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the lower bush bean,
Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph. lunatus;
Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. multiflorus; Windsor bean, the
common bean of England, Faba vulgaris.
As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables.
2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or
fruits, more or less resembling true beans.
Bean aphis (Zoöl.), a plant louse
(Aphis fabæ) which infests the bean plant. --
Bean fly (Zoöl.), a fly found on bean
flowers. -- Bean goose (Zoöl.), a
species of goose (Anser segetum). -- Bean
weevil (Zoöl.), a small weevil that in the larval
state destroys beans. The American species is Bruchus
fabæ. -- Florida bean (Bot.),
the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are
washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into
ornaments. -- Ignatius bean, or St.
Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species of
Strychnos. -- Navy bean, the common dried
white bean of commerce; probably so called because an important article of
food in the navy. -- Pea bean, a very small and
highly esteemed variety of the edible white bean; -- so called from its
size. -- Sacred bean. See under
Sacred. -- Screw bean. See under
Screw. -- Sea bean. (a)
Same as Florida bean. (b) A red bean of
unknown species used for ornament. -- Tonquin bean,
or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx
odorata, a leguminous tree. -- Vanilla bean.
See under Vanilla.