Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- Also called garbanzo. a widely cultivated plant, Cicer arietinum, of the legume family, bearing pods containing pealike seeds.
- the seeds of this plant, used extensively as a food.
noun
- a bushy leguminous plant, Cicer arietinum, cultivated for its edible pealike seeds in the Mediterranean region, central Asia, and Africa
- Also called: garbanzo the seed of this plant
1712, false singular back-formation from chich-pease (1540s), from French pois chiche, from Latin cicer “pea,” of uncertain origin, but with likely cognates in Greek kikerroi “pale,” Armenian sisern “chick-pea,” Albanian thjer “lentil.” For second element, see pease. The Latin plural, cicera, is also the source of Italian cece and was borrowed into Old High German as chihhra (German Kichererbse).