I. ˈbēn noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English bene, from Old English bēan; akin to Old High German bōna bean, Old Norse baun, and probably to Latin faba bean, Greek phakos lentil
1.
a. : broad bean
b. : the seed of any of various other erect or climbing leguminous plants especially of the genera Phaseolus, Dolichos, and Vigna — see kidney bean , lima bean , sieva bean , snap bean
c. : a plant bearing beans
b. : a bean pod used when immature as a vegetable
2.
a. : a valueless item
not worth a bean
b. slang Britain : a sovereign or a guinea
c. : a small amount of money
he didn't have a bean when they were married
haven't spent a bean on it in years
d. slang : dollar
e. beans plural : an appreciable amount
he doesn't know beans about it
I haven't heard beans about the matter lately
3.
a. : any of various seeds or fruits that resemble beans
a coffee bean
catalpa beans littering the walk
b. : any of several plants producing such beans — usually used in combination
a field of castor beans
— see black bean , coral bean
4.
a. : a bean used in balloting
b. : a man that becomes leader of Twelfth Night festivities through having drawn a piece of cake containing a bean
5. : something felt to resemble a bean: as
a. : a protuberance on the upper mandible of waterfowl (as of certain geese) — see goose illustration
b. : a nipple or similar device placed in an oil-well line to restrict the flow of the oil
c. : a hardened mass of fatty secretion in the sheath of a stallion or gelding that if allowed to accumulate may block the urethra causing colicky pain and impeding urination
6. slang
a. beans plural : beating , punishment , pain , censure — usually used with give
giving the enemy beans when they came within range
giving the opposition beans in a stinging speech
b. : head , skull , brain
every whim and caprice which enters his bean — Henry Miller
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: bean (I) (head)
: to strike typically with a hurled or propelled object and on the head
a caddie beaned by a wild shot
specifically : to hit (a baseball batter) especially on the head with a pitched ball
III. noun
1. beans plural : exuberance — used in the phrase full of beans
2. beans plural : nonsense — used in the phrase full of beans