Word
pea
US/ˈpi/
UK/pˈiː/
Definitions
01vegetable
A2 · Elementary Countable noun Cooking
n. a small, round, green seed that you eat as a vegetable.
n. the small, spherical, edible seed of the legume Pisum sativum.
“She served the roast chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and fresh peas.”
“The chef insisted on shelling the peas by hand to ensure that only the most tender specimens were included in the spring risotto.”
Synonyms
02the plant
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun
n. the climbing plant that produces pods containing peas.
n. any of several leguminous plants of the family Fabaceae, characterized by climbing stems and seed-bearing pods.
“The pea plants in the garden are starting to climb up the wooden fence.”
“Mendel's pioneering work in genetics relied on the careful cross-pollination of different varieties of the common garden pea.”
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek πίσον (píson)bor. Latin pisum Late Latin pisader. Old English pise Middle English pese English peasebf. English pea Back-formation from pease, an original singular reinterpreted as a plural. Further from Middle English pese (“a pea”), from Old English pise, from Latin pisa, pisum, from Ancient Greek πίσον (píson).
From having the appearance of a pea (see English etymology 1), the edible seed of Pisum sativum, the pea plant.
From Middle English pe, po, poue, pa, paue, from Old English pēa, pāwa (“peacock”) (compare Old English pāwe (“peahen”)) and Old Norse pái (“peacock”), both from Proto-Germanic *pāwô (“peacock”), from Latin pāvō (“peacock”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pau, West Frisian pau, Dutch pauw, German Pfau. Doublet of Pavo.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
01. pea patch
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A2 KeyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.3.0–4.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 2.0–2.524–43TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.225–549
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- A2 · Elementary
- Updated
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