bean English · revision 10643

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=940|origins=ang bēan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /biːn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|bēan|t=bean, pea, legume]] (about 1000; 940 in the OED),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) from [[m|gem-pro|*baunō]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old Norse baun, Dutch boon and German Bohne.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster and Etymonline relate it to Latin faba, bean, and Greek phakós, lentil,^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) but Barnhart finds no further cognates and Hoad calls it of unknown origin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) de Vaan thinks the Italic, Slavic and Germanic words are probably independent loans from a European substrate word *bab-.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The plant, 940, and its smooth kidney-shaped seed, about 1000;^(OED 1989) in Anglo-Saxon times chiefly varieties of broad bean.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a type of something of little value bean is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and ''not worth a hill of beans'' from 1863.^(Etymonline) The seeds of other plants, such as the coffee bean, have been called beans since 1398.^(OED 1989) The slang sense, the head, is from 1905, American baseball slang in ''bean ball'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the verb, to hit on the head, from 1910.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Full of beans'', lively, is from the mid-19th century and first referred to horses fed on beans.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Spill the beans'' is an American expression of the early 20th century,^(Cresswell 2021) and ''bean counter'' is recorded by 1971.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 940 – the plant.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – a thing of little value.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1398 – seeds of other plants.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-19th century – full of beans.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1905 – the head (slang).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1971 – bean counter.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The edible seed or pod of various [[legume|alt=leguminous]] plants, such as the kidney bean or broad bean.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A plant that bears such seeds.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A seed of other plants that looks like a bean: ''coffee beans''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(slang)'' The head.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal)'' To hit on the head, especially with a pitched ball.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[beanlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[beanfeast]]

+ * [[beano]]

+ * [[beanpole]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}