Word Origin & History
bean
O.E. bean "bean, pea, legume," from P.Gmc. *bauno (cf. O.N. baun, Ger. bohne), of unknown origin. As a metaphor for "Something of small value" it is attested from 1297. Meaning "head" is U.S. baseball slang c.1905 (in bean-ball "a pitch thrown at the head"). Slang bean-counter is first recorded 1975. The notion of lucky or magic beans in Eng. folklore is from the exotic beans or large seeds that wash up occasionally in Cornwall and western Scotland, carried from the Caribbean or South America by the Gulf Stream. They were cherished, believed to ward off the evil eye and aid in childbirth. To not know beans (Amer.Eng. 1933) is perhaps from the "of little worth" sense, but may have a connection to colloquial expression recorded around Somerset, to know how many beans make five "be a clever fellow." Bean bag is 1871 as a device in children's games, 1969 as a type of chair. Beanery "cheap restaurant" is from 1887. Bean-fest "annual dinner given by employers for their workers" is from 1805; they had a reputation for rowdiness; the popular abbreviated form was beano.