pea

Definition

Any of certain plants of the family Fabaceae: Pisum sativum and others.

Etymology

Back-formation from pease, an original singular reinterpreted as a plural. Further from Middle English pese (“a pea”), from Old English pise, from Latin pisa, pisum, from Ancient Greek πίσον (píson).

Example Sentences

• "Below, long rows of peas put forth their white-winged flowers, tempting the small butterflies to flutter round their inanimate likenesses;..."
• "peas and rice"
• "Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata is what most people call black-eyed peas but some people call black-eyed beans."