fava bean

noun

fa·va bean ˈfä-və-

: the large, flat, edible, starchy seed of an Old World upright vetch (Vicia faba) that is typically pale green to whitish in color and is eaten raw, blanched, or cooked

also : this plant widely grown for its seeds and as fodder

called also broad bean, horse bean

see favism

Examples of fava bean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Neighbors would gather for barbecues under his pergola covered in grapes; the half-apricot, half-plum tree; and the fava beans tall enough to hide in. —

Jennifer Brookland, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2023 Plenty of garlic and chile flakes bolster the heartiness of the fava beans while lots of lemon zest adds freshness and acidity to this simple pasta dish. —

Ben Mims, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2023 The official dish for the coronation, according to a recipe released by Buckingham Palace, is a vegetarian quiche made of spinach, tarragon, cheese and fava beans. —

Jenny Gross, New York Times, 2 May 2023 Certain foods, including rhubarb, fava beans, and aloe, could be to blame, as all can tint your pee a darker color. —

Kathleen Felton, Health, 26 May 2023 The official dish chosen by Charles and Camilla to mark the May 6 ceremony is a quiche with spinach, tarragon, fava beans, and cheddar cheese. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 3 May 2023 The Royal Family has designated a quiche made from spinach, fava beans and tarragon as the event’s official dish. —

Anna Cooban, CNN, 3 May 2023 Lucia featured a fava bean agnolotti at its grand re-opening last weekend, and Nonna features fusili with herbed fava bean pesto this week. —

Dallas News, 10 Apr. 2021 The children fished for tadpoles in the stone pond while the rest of us snacked on fava beans and made small talk. —

Jamie Quatro, Travel + Leisure, 24 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fava bean.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Italian fava "fava bean," going back to Latin faba, going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hab^(h)- (whence also Serbian & Croatian bȍb, bòba "bean," Polish bób, Russian bob all going back to Slavic *bobŭ), probably borrowed from a European substratal language

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of fava bean was in 1893

See more words from the same year