legume

[ leg-yoom, li-gyoom ]
See synonyms for legume on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any plant of the legume family, especially those used for feed, food, or as a soil-improving crop.

  2. the pod or seed vessel of such a plant.

  1. any table vegetable of the legume family.

Origin of legume

1
First recorded in 1670–80; from French légume “vegetable,” from Latin legūmen “pulse” (a leguminous plant), derivative of legere “to choose, gather, read”

Other words from legume

  • non·leg·ume, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for legume

legume

/ (ˈlɛɡjuːm, lɪˈɡjuːm) /


noun
  1. the long dry dehiscent fruit produced by leguminous plants; a pod

  2. any table vegetable of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae), esp beans or peas

  1. any leguminous plant

Origin of legume

1
C17: from French légume, from Latin legūmen bean, from legere to pick (a crop)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for legume

legume

[ lĕgyōōm′, lə-gyōōm ]


  1. Any of a large number of eudicot plants belonging to the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae). Their characteristic fruit is a seed pod. Legumes live in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in structures called nodules on their roots. These bacteria are able to take nitrogen from the air, which is in a form that plants cannot use, and convert it into compounds that the plants can use. Many legumes are widely cultivated for food, as fodder for livestock, and as a means of improving the nitrogen content of soils. Beans, peas, clover, alfalfa, locust trees, and acacia trees are all legumes.

  2. The seed pod of such a plant.

Other words from legume

  • leguminous adjective

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.