1.
[syn: hyacinth bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Egyptian bean, Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hyacinth \Hy"a*cinth\, n. [L. hyacinthus a kind of flower, prob.
the iris, gladiolus, or larkspur, also a kind of gem, perh.
the sapphire; as, a proper name, Hyacinthus, a beautiful
Laconian youth, beloved by Apollo, fr. Gr. ?, ?: cf. F.
hyacinthe. Cf. Jacinth. The hyacinth was fabled to have
sprung from the blood of Hyacinthus, who was accidentally
slain by Apollo.]
1. (Bot.)
(a) A bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, bearing
beautiful spikes of fragrant flowers. Hyacinthus
orientalis is a common variety.
(b) A plant of the genus Camassia (Camassia Farseri),
called also Eastern camass; wild hyacinth.
(c) The name also given to Scilla Peruviana, a
Mediterranean plant, one variety of which produces
white, and another blue, flowers; -- called also, from
a mistake as to its origin, Hyacinth of Peru.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Min.) A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem.
See Zircon.
[1913 Webster]
Hyacinth bean (Bot.), a climbing leguminous plant
(Dolichos Lablab), related to the true bean. It has dark
purple flowers and fruit.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Lablab \Lab"lab\ (l[a^]b"l[a^]b), n. (Bot.)
an East Indian name for several twining leguminous plants
related to the bean, but commonly applied to the hyacinth
bean (Dolichos Lablab).
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bean \Bean\ (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D.
boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw.
b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous
herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and
Dolichos; also, to the herbs.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still
doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and
China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black
Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, Dolichos Lablab; the
common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and
pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the
lower bush bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus;
Lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus; Spanish bean and
scarlet runner, Phaseolus multiflorus; Windsor bean,
the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris.
[1913 Webster] As an article of food beans are classed
with vegetables.
[1913 Webster]
2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more
or less resembling true beans.
[1913 Webster]
Bean aphis (Zool.), a plant louse (Aphis fab[ae]) which
infests the bean plant.
Bean fly (Zool.), a fly found on bean flowers.
Bean goose (Zool.), a species of goose (Anser segetum).
Bean weevil (Zool.), a small weevil that in the larval
state destroys beans. The American species is Bruchus
fab[ae].
Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West
Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida
shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments.
Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species
of Strychnos.
Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce;
probably so called because an important article of food in
the navy.
Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the
edible white bean; -- so called from its size.
Sacred bean. See under Sacred.
Screw bean. See under Screw.
Sea bean.
(a) Same as Florida bean.
(b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament.
Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of
Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree.
Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Dolichos lablab
n 1: perennial twining vine of Old World tropics having
trifoliate leaves and racemes of fragrant purple pea-like
flowers followed by maroon pods of edible seeds; grown as
an ornamental and as a vegetable on the Indian
subcontinent; sometimes placed in genus Dolichos [syn:
hyacinth bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Egyptian
bean, Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab]