chickpea

chickpea
/chik"pee'/, n.
1. Also called garbanzo. a widely cultivated plant, Cicer arietinum, of the legume family, bearing pods containing pealike seeds.
2. the seeds of this plant, used extensively as a food.
[1540-50; alter. of chich-pea, equiv. to late ME chiche ( < MF L cicer chickpea) + PEA]

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Annual legume (Cicer arietinum) widely grown for its nutritious seeds.

The bushy 2-ft (60-cm) plants bear pinnate leaves and small white or reddish flowers. The yellow-brown peas are borne one or two to a pod. Chickpeas are an important food plant in India, Africa, and Central and South America. They are the main ingredient of hummus, a sauce originating in the Middle East. In southern Europe, chickpeas are a common ingredient in soups, salads, and stews. A kind of meal or flour is also made from chickpeas.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chickpea — Left: Bengal (Indian) variety; right: European variety Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae …   Wikipedia

  • chickpea — ► NOUN ▪ a round yellowish seed which is a pulse of major importance as food. ORIGIN from Latin cicer chickpea …   English terms dictionary

  • chickpea — [chik′pē΄] n. [for chick pea < ME & OFr chiche < L cicer, pea] 1. a bushy annual plant (Cicer arietinum) of the pea family, with short, hairy pods containing usually two seeds; garbanzo 2. the edible seed …   English World dictionary

  • chickpea — noun 1. the seed of the chickpea plant • Syn: ↑garbanzo • Hypernyms: ↑legume • Part Holonyms: ↑chickpea plant, ↑Egyptian pea, ↑Cicer arietinum 2. Asiatic herb cultivated …   Useful english dictionary

  • chickpea — UK [ˈtʃɪkˌpiː] / US [ˈtʃɪkˌpɪ] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms chickpea : singular chickpea plural chickpeas a round yellow brown seed that can be cooked and eaten …   English dictionary

  • chickpea — noun a) An annual Asian plant (Cicer arietinum) in the pea family, widely cultivated for the edible seeds in its short inflated pods. Chickpea is valued for its nutritive seeds with high protein content.[ …   Wiktionary

  • chickpea — chick|pea [ˈtʃıkpi:] n [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: chich chickpea (14 19 centuries) (from Old French chiche, from Latin cicer) + pea] a large brown ↑pea which is cooked and eaten American Equivalent: garbanzo …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • chickpea — [18] Chickpeas have nothing to do with chickens, and only remotely anything to do with peas (they are both legumes). The word comes ultimately from Latin cicer (the name of the Roman orator Cicero is based on it – one of his ancestors must have… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • chickpea — noun 1》 a round yellowish seed which is a pulse of major importance as food. 2》 the leguminous plant which bears chickpeas. [Cicer arietinum.] Origin C18 (earlier as chiche pease): from ME chiche (from OFr. chiche, cice, from L. cicer chickpea )… …   English new terms dictionary

  • chickpea — chick•pea [[t]ˈtʃɪkˌpi[/t]] n. 1) pln a plant, Cicer arietinum, of the legume family, bearing pods containing pealike seeds 2) pln chickpeas, the seeds of this plant, used as a food Also called garbanzo Etymology: 1540–50; chich pea < late ME… …   From formal English to slang

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