ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pea

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˈpi// UK //pˈiː// pea Archaic

n. a small, round green seed that grows inside a pod. You eat them as a vegetable, often with other foods.

n. the small, round, green seed of the Pisum sativum plant, typically eaten as a vegetable. Commonly used in the plural form.


SIMPLE

I like peas in my soup.

CONTEXTUAL

She added frozen peas to the pasta sauce for extra color and nutrition.

COMPLEX

The garden yielded a bountiful harvest of crisp, sweet peas that the family preserved in jars for the winter months.

Etymology 1

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).

Etymology 2

From having the appearance of a pea (see English etymology 1), the edible seed of Pisum sativum, the pea plant.

Etymology 3

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.

Idioms2 entries

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