pea

pea
pea 17c., false singular from M.E. pease (pl. pesen), which was both single and collective (e.g. wheat, corn) but was mistaken for a plural, from O.E. pise (W.Saxon), piose (Mercian) "pea," from L.L. pisa, variant of L. pisum "pea," from Gk. pison, perhaps of Thracian or Phrygian origin. Pea soup is first recorded 1711 (pease-soup); applied to London fogs since at least 1849. In Breton, piz, lit. "peas," also means "stingy," perhaps as a semantic borrowing of Fr. chiche "stingy," lit. "small," which also happens to be a homonym of chiche "peas." The French word for small ultimately may be from L. ciccum, the same root as the word for "peas."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Pea — Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum}, of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • PEA — or some variant therein can refer to: Pea plant Pea (song), on the Red Hot Chili Peppers album One Hot Minute Pea galaxy or Green Pea , type of galaxy that appears green Pea River, Alabama, USA PEA can be an abbreviation for: In biochemistry… …   Wikipedia

  • PEA — ist die Abkürzung für: Phenylethylamin, als beta Phenylethylamin einer der Hauptwirkstoffe von Schokolade N Palmitoylethanolamin, ein Endocannabinoid mit antioxidativer Wirkung pulslose elektrische Aktivität, einem Synonym für elektromechanische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pea — [pē] n. pl. peas [back form. < ME pese, pees, a pea, taken as pl. < OE pise < LL pisa < L, pl. of pisum, a pea < Gr pison, a pea] 1. an annual, tendril climbing plant (Pisum sativum) of the pea family, with white or pinkish flowers …   English World dictionary

  • pea — [ pi ] noun count * a very small round green vegetable that grows in a long narrow POD a. a climbing plant whose seeds are peas like two peas in a pod INFORMAL used for saying that two people look, behave, or think exactly the same => SPLIT… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Pea — Pea, n. [OF. peis. See {Poise}.] The sliding weight on a steelyard. [Written also {pee}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pea — Pea, n. (Naut.) See {Peak}, n., 3. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pea — [pi:] n [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: pease pea (11 19 centuries) (mistaken as plural), from Latin pisa, plural of pisum, from Greek pison] 1.) a round green seed that is cooked and eaten as a vegetable, or the plant on which these seeds grow ▪ roast …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pea — ► NOUN 1) a spherical green seed eaten as a vegetable. 2) the climbing leguminous plant which has pods containing peas. ORIGIN from PEASE(Cf. ↑pease), which was interpreted as being plural but in fact meant «pea» in Old English; from Greek pison …   English terms dictionary

  • Pea — Pea, bei den Birmanen, so v.w. Tempel …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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