jumping bean

jumping bean
the seed of any of certain Mexican plants of the genera Sebastiania and Sapium, of the spurge family: the movements of a moth larva inside the seed cause it to move about or jump. Also called Mexican jumping bean.
[1885-90, Amer.]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Jumping Bean — may refer to: *Mexican jumping bean, a type of seed in which the egg of a small moth has been laid * Jumping Bean , a song by Tracy Bonham from her 2000 album Down Here …   Wikipedia

  • Jumping bean — Jumping Jump ing, p. a. & vb. n. of {Jump}, to leap. [1913 Webster] {Jumping bean}, a seed of a Mexican {Euphorbia}, containing the larva of a moth ({Carpocapsa saltitans}). The larva by its sudden movements causes the seed to roll to roll and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • jumping bean — ☆ jumping bean n. the seed of any of several Mexican plants (esp. genus Sebastiana) of the spurge family, containing the larvae of a small moth ( Cydia saltitans), which by its movements makes the seed jump or roll about …   English World dictionary

  • jumping bean — n. the seed of a Mexican plant that jumps with the movement of the larva inside. * * * noun, pl ⋯ beans [count] : a seed that moves when a small insect moves inside it called also Mexican jumping bean * * * ˈjumping bean 7 [jumping bean] noun a… …   Useful english dictionary

  • jumping bean — noun A Mexican jumping bean …   Wiktionary

  • jumping-bean-tree — afrikinis dirgvis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Karpažolinių šeimos medieninis augalas (Spirostachys africana), paplitęs Afrikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Spirostachys africana angl. Cape sandalwood; jumping bean tree; muconite; tamboti;… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • jumping bean — jump′ing bean n. pln the seed of any of certain Mexican plants of the genera Sebastiania and Sapium, of the spurge family: the movements of a moth larva inside the seed cause it to move about or jump • Etymology: 1885–90 …   From formal English to slang

  • jumping bean — /ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ bin/ (say jumping been) noun the seed of any of certain Mexican plants of the family Euphorbiaceae, which is inhabited by the larva of a small moth whose movements cause the seed to move about or jump …  

  • jumping bean — noun Date: circa 1889 a seed of any of several Mexican shrubs (genera Sebastiania and Sapium) of the spurge family that tumbles about because of the movements of the larva of a small tortricid moth (Cydia saltitans syn. Laspeyresia saltitans)… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • jumping bean — noun a plant seed, chiefly Mexican, that jumps due to the movement of a moth larva developing inside it …   English new terms dictionary

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