From Middle English bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-.

• enPR: bēn, IPA: /biːn/

bean (plural beans)

1. Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
   • 2004, T. N. Shivenanda, B. R. V. Iyengar, Phosphorus Management in French Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.), Ramdane Dris, S. Mohan Jain (editors), Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops, Volume 2: Plant Mineral Nutrition and Pesticide Management, page 79 ↗,

     Beans are a large group of leguminous vegetables that serve as a main source of proteins in human diet. This group comprises several species and some of them are Adzuki bean (Vigna angularis); Broad bean (Vicia faba); Cluster bean (Cyamposis tetragonoloba); French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris); […] .

2. The large edible seed of such a plant (for example, a broad bean, navy bean or garbanzo bean).
3. The edible seedpod of such a plant.

   Green beans, also called French beans, can be pickled and made into pickled beans.

4. (by extension) The bean-like seed of certain other plants, such as a vanilla bean or (especially) a coffee bean.
5. (by extension) An object resembling a pea or bean in shape, often made from plastic or styrofoam and used in large numbers as packing material or as stuffing for beanbags and similar items.
6. (slang) The head or brain.

   Synonyms: noggin

   • 1959, Maxwell Droke, You and the World to Come, page 173:

     Now, there was a perfectly sound forecast for you. Certainly a case of using the old bean. The surmise was perfectly logical.

7. (slang) The human clitoris.
8. (slang, often, affectionate) A person; especially, a baby.
   • 2002 March 21, Yena, "oh my bloody god boys!", microsoft.public.xbox, Usenet:

     i dont want boid (whoever said that) he is mean. boid is a mean bean.

9. (British, slang, archaic) A guinea coin.
10. (British, slang, usually in the negative) Money.

    I haven't got a bean.

11. (Java programming language) Clipping of JavaBean
12. (slang) Any form of tablet, especially benzedrine (benny).

• German: Bohnenpflanze

• French: haricot
• German: Bohne
• Italian: fagiolo
• Portuguese: feijão
• Russian: боб
• Spanish: haba, frijol, habichuela, (Spain) judía, alubia, poroto (South America)

• Russian: боб
• Spanish: vaina

• Russian: боб
• Spanish: grano

• German: Bean

bean (beans, present participle beaning; simple past and past participle beaned)

1. (chiefly, baseball) To hit deliberately with a projectile, especially in the head.

   The pitcher beaned the batter, rather than letting him hit another home run.

1. A botanical plant name author abbreviation for botanist William Jackson Bean (1863-1947).

Probably an occupational surname for a bean farmer, from bean.

• IPA: /biːn/

1. Surname.
2. A village/and/cpar in Dartford (OS grid ref TQ5872).