bean

See also: Bean, bean-, and beán

English

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, noun sense 2)

Toe beans of a cat (noun sense 13)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-?

Proto-Germanic *babnōder.?

Proto-Germanic *baunō

Proto-West Germanic *baunu

Old English bēan

Middle English bene

English bean

From Middle English bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō (“bean”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”).

Cognate with Scots bene, bein (“bean”), North Frisian buan, Saterland Frisian Boone, West Frisian bean, beanne, Dutch boon, German Bohne, Luxembourgish Boun, Danish bønne, Faroese bøn, bøna, Icelandic baun, Norwegian Bokmål bønne, Norwegian Nynorsk bauna, baune, bogna, bønne, Swedish böna, Irish pónaire, Manx poanrey, Scottish Gaelic pònair, Latin faba, Russian боб (bob), Serbo-Croatian bȍb / бо̏б. Doublet of fava.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbi(ː)n/, [ˈbɪin]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn
• Hyphenation: bean
• Homophones: (dialectal) been, being

Noun

bean (plural beans)

2. Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.

   Coordinate term: pea

   • 2004, T. N. Shivenanda, B. R. V. Iyengar, Phosphorus Management in French Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.), Ramdane Dris, S. Mohan Jain (editors), Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops, Volume 2: Plant Mineral Nutrition and Pesticide Management, page 79,

     Beans are a large group of leguminous vegetables that serve as a main source of proteins in human diet. This group comprises several species and some of them are Adzuki bean (Vigna angularis); Broad bean (Vicia faba); Cluster bean (Cyamposis tetragonoloba); French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris); […] .

4. The large edible seed of such a plant (for example, a broad bean, navy bean, or garbanzo bean).
6. The edible seedpod of such a plant.

   Green beans, also called French beans, can be pickled.

8. (by extension) The bean-like seed of certain other plants, such as a vanilla bean or (especially) a coffee bean.
10. (by extension) An object resembling a pea or bean in shape, often made from plastic or styrofoam and used in large numbers as packing material or as stuffing for beanbags and similar items.
12. (slang) The head or brain.

    Synonym: noggin

    • 1959, Maxwell Droke, You and the World to Come, page 173:

      Now, there was a perfectly sound forecast for you. Certainly a case of using the old bean. The surmise was perfectly logical.

    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XI and XV:

      I saw her quiver and kept a wary eye on the ginger ale bottle. But even if she had raised it and brought it down on [my] bean, I couldn't have been more stunned than I was by the words that left her lips.
      [...]
      Well, as I say, it was from his fertile bean that the idea sprang.

14. (slang) The human clitoris.
    • 2010, Cynthia W. Gentry, Dana Fredst, What Women Really Want in Bed: The Surprising Secrets Women Wish Men Knew about Sex, Quiver, published 2010, →ISBN, page 64:

      For one, don't stage a full-frontal assault on her bean.

    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:bean.
16. (slang, often endearing) A person; especially, a baby.
    • 2000 April 9, Richard G Cheek, “Apologies, DimWit Dana”, in talk.politics.guns (Usenet):

      Sparky is a good bean, even if he is a carpet-bagging bean at that.

    • 2002 March 21, Yena, "oh my bloody god boys!", microsoft.public.xbox, Usenet:

      i dont want boid (whoever said that) he is mean. boid is a mean bean.

    • 2007, Alex Bradley, Hot Lunch, Penguin, →ISBN:

      "Good, because we like you. You're okay. You're a good bean." "I never thought I'd be friends with a cheerleader," I said.

18. (UK, slang, archaic) A guinea coin or sovereign.
20. (UK, slang, chiefly in the negative) Money.

    I haven't got a bean.

22. (Java programming language) Clipping of JavaBean.
    • 2017, Iuliana Cosmina, Rob Harrop, Chris Schaefer, Clarence Ho, Pro Spring 5, 5th edition, Apress, →ISBN, page 131:

      The singerOne bean has values for both the name and age properties, so it passes through the init() method with absolutely no changes.

23. (slang) Any form of tablet, especially benzedrine (benny).
    • 2022, Sean Thor Conroe, Fuccboi‎^[2], Hachette, →ISBN:

      Once the bean kicked in I started wilding.

25. (typically in the plural, colloquial) Clipping of toe bean.

Usage notes

• Beans and peas are sometimes misidentified (confused with one another); they are both legumes (belonging to the family Fabaceae) and seeds. Peas are a type of bean with smaller, round seeds in the pod, in contrast to the oval or kidney-shaped seeds usually referred to as beans. Because both terms are applied to a wide range of different legumes, the distinction is not always clear: garbanzo bean is a synonym of chickpea.
• The word bean has referred to a wide class of seeds since pre-Columbian times (when only the Eurasian types were known to Germanic language speakers), but, after Columbian contact, it was extended to other seeds belonging to the New World genus Phaseolus (runner beans, lima beans, and so on; see bean § Terminology for details). The fruits or seeds of some other non-Fabaceae plants (e.g., coffee beans, cocoa beans, vanilla beans, castor beans) are also referred to as beans, because of their resemblance to beans as named in the stricter sense.

Hyponyms

• adsuki bean
• aduki bean
• adzuki bean
• algaroba bean
• algarroba bean
• Anasazi bean
• asparagus bean
• azuki bean
• baked bean
• baked beans
• baking beans
• bay bean
• beach bean
• bean shooter
• Bengal bean
• Benghal bean
• bitter bean
• blackbean
• black bean
• black-bean sauce
• black bean sauce
• black-eyed bean
• black turtle bean
• blue beans
• bogbean
• bog bean
• Bolita bean
• bonavist bean
• borlotti bean
• boston bean
• broadbean
• broad bean
• brown bean
• buck bean
• buckbean
• buffalo bean
• bush bean
• butter bean
• butterbean
• cacao bean
• Calabar bean
• calico bean
• calico beans
• cannellini bean
• carob bean
• castor bean
• castor oil bean
• ceci bean
• chili beans
• China bean
• Chinese long bean
• civet bean
• cluster bean
• cocoa bean
• coffee bean
• common bean
• coral bean
• corona bean
• cow bean
• cowboy beans
• cranberry bean
• djenkol bean
• dollar bean
• donkey bean
• dragon tongue bean
• Dutch case-knife bean
• dwarf bean
• edible bean
• Egyptian bean
• English bean
• English runner bean
• Entity Bean
• European bean
• faba bean
• fava bean
• fetish bean
• field bean
• flageolet bean
• flat bean
• Florida bean
• Florida velvet bean
• french bean
• French bean
• French filet bean
• French green bean
• fresh bean
• full of beans
• garbanzo bean
• gemsbok bean
• gemsbuck bean
• giant stock bean
• goa bean
• Goa bean
• Great Northern bean
• great northern bean
• green bean
• green bean galaxy
• guar bean
• guava bean
• haricot bean
• haricot vert bean
• helda bean
• hog's bean
• horse bean
• horsebean
• human bean
• hyacinth bean
• ice-cream bean
• Ignatius bean
• Indian bean
• Italian flat bean
• Italian green bean
• jack bean
• Java bean
• jelly bean
• jellybean
• jequirity bean
• jering bean
• jolly bean
• jumby bean
• jumping bean
• Kentucky Wonder bean
• Kersting's bean
• kidney bean
• Leichhardt's bean
• lima bean
• Lima bean
• locust bean
• lupin bean
• lupini bean
• Lyon bean
• Mackenzie bean
• Madagascar bean
• maggoty bay bean
• Manila bean
• marama bean
• marrow bean
• mash bean
• mat bean
• matchbox bean
• matpe bean
• mescalbean
• mescal bean
• mesquite bean
• Mexican bean
• Mexican jumping bean
• Mexican yam bean
• Molucca bean
• mongo bean
• monstrance bean
• moong bean
• morama bean
• morning bean
• moth bean
• mung bean
• mungo bean
• navy bean
• ordeal bean
• pea bean
• pearl haricot bean
• pichurim bean
• pink bean
• pinto bean
• poison bean
• pole bean
• Price's potato-bean
• Pythagorean bean
• Queensland bean
• red bean
• red mung bean
• refried bean
• refried beans
• rice and beans
• rice bean
• Romano bean
• runner bean
• sacred bean
• sand bean
• Sarawak bean
• scarlet runner bean
• scimitar bean
• screw bean
• screwbean
• seabean
• sea bean
• sea green bean
• shell bean
• shuck beans
• shucky beans
• sieva bean
• smoking bean
• snail bean
• snap bean
• snuffbox bean
• soja bean
• soup beans
• soya bean
• soy bean
• soybean
• Spanish bean
• speckled butter bean
• spill the beans
• St Ignatius' bean
• St Ignatius's bean
• stink bean
• stinky bean
• string bean
• stringless bean
• St. Thomas bean
• sugar bean
• sword bean
• tepary bean
• the dollar bean
• tick bean
• tickbean
• tonca bean
• tonga bean
• tonka bean
• tonqua bean
• tonquin bean
• turtle bean
• twisted cluster bean
• urad bean
• urd bean
• vanilla bean
• velvet bean
• Walkman Bean
• waxbean
• wax bean
• wax-pod bean
• Welsh bean
• white bean
• white pea bean
• wild bean
• Windsor bean
• winged bean
• wolf bean
• wonder bean
• yam bean
• Yankee bean
• yard-long bean
• yardlong bean
• yellow bean

software: JavaBeans

• backing bean
• managed bean
• message-driven bean

Derived terms

• African locust bean
• Apache NetBeans
• asparagus bean
• backing bean
• Banstead
• BaseBean
• bean aphid
• bean aphis
• bean bag
• beanbag
• bean-bag
• bean ball
• beanball
• bean beetle
• bean-belly
• bean blight
• beanbrain
• beanbrawl
• beanbreath
• bean bruchid
• bean-brush
• beanburger
• bean-butter
• bean cake, beancake, bean-cake
• bean-caper
• bean caper
• bean choke
• bean chute
• bean clam
• bean clover
• bean-cod
• bean counter, bean-counter
• bean cowrie
• bean-crake
• Bean Creek
• bean curd
• bean curve
• bean dip
• bean-dolphin
• bean-eater
• beaner
• beanery
• bean family
• bean-feast
• bean feast
• beanfeast
• bean-fed
• beanfield
• bean flicker
• bean-flicker
• bean flicking
• beanflour
• bean fly
• bean-fly
• bean-goose
• bean goose
• beanhead
• bean head
• bean heads
• bean hole
• beanhole
• bean-hool
• bean-hull
• beanie
• beanie baby
• Beanie Baby
• beanie key
• bean iron ore
• bean jar
• bean king
• bean-king
• bean leafroller
• beanless
• bean-like
• beanlike
• bean machine
• bean masher
• beanmeal
• bean metal
• bean-mouse
• bean mouth
• bean of India
• bean of Molucca
• bean of St. Ignatius
• bean oil
• bean ore
• bean paste
• bean pie
• bean plant
• bean-plot
• beanplot
• bean pod
• beanpole
• bean pole
• bean-pole
• bean pot
• beanpot
• Beanpot
• bean queen
• bean rag
• bean salad
• beans bunny
• Bean Scripting Framework
• bean seed fly
• bean-shaped plasma
• bean shoot
• bean-shooter
• bean shot
• bean-shot copper
• bean slot
• beans on toast
• bean soup theory
• beanspilling
• bean sprout
• beanstalk
• bean-stalk
• bean-stick
• bean stitch
• bean-straw
• bean thread
• bean thread noodle
• bean-to-bar
• bean-tosser
• bean tostada
• Bean Town
• Beantown
• bean tree
• bean-tree
• bean trefoil
• bean-trefoil
• bean-vine
• bean wagon
• beanwater
• beanweed
• bean weevil
• bean-wood
• beany
• bell bean
• blackbean
• black bean aphid
• black matpe bean
• blue bean
• bobby bean
• bog-bean
• bogbean
• boring as beans
• broadbean
• buck-bean
• buckbean
• bullets and beans
• bush bean
• butter bean
• butterbean
• campfire beans
• castor bean
• castor bean tick
• castor-oil bean
• chad bean
• charro bean
• chili bean
• choke bean
• chuckwagon beans
• clean as a bean
• cool beans
• cowboy beans
• desert bean
• dilly bean
• double bean
• dry bean
• Enola bean
• entity bean
• Entity Bean
• fine bean
• flick one's bean
• flick the bean
• flow bean
• for beans
• full of beans
• gemsbok bean
• get beans
• give someone beans
• Goa bean
• Goa bean vine
• golden bean
• goober bean
• gully bean
• hell fire bean
• hill of beans
• horsebean
• hot bean
• hot boiled beans
• Ignatius bean
• Indian bean tree
• JavaBean
• java-bean
• jellybean
• jugo bean
• jumbie bean
• keen as a bean
• keep it a bean
• Kentucky wonder bean
• kewl beans
• know beans about
• know how many beans make five
• least snout-bean
• le dollar bean
• locust bean gum
• longbean
• magotty bay bean
• Malacca bean
• Malacca-bean
• Malacca bean tree
• Malacca-bean tree
• maloga bean
• May-bean
• MBean
• Message-Driven Bean
• Metcalfe bean
• Mexican bean beetle
• mini beans
• mole bean
• multiflora bean
• nicker bean
• not care beans
• not have a bean
• not know beans
• not worth beans
• old bean
• peachy keen jelly bean
• pigeon bean
• pole bean
• pork and bean
• pork and beans
• potato bean
• prairie bean
• purple wax bean
• red bean paste
• red bean soup
• refried bean
• Roman bean
• scarlet-bean
• scarlet bean
• screwbean
• seabean
• Senate bean soup
• session bean
• silly bean
• snake bean
• snoutbean
• snuff box sea bean
• soup beans
• soybean
• spill the beans
• spotted bean
• stinking bean trefoil
• St. Thomas' bean
• sweet bean sauce
• tic bean
• tickbean
• toe bean
• tough beans
• tundra bean goose
• Walkman Bean
• waxbean
• yellow wax bean

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: bin
• → Fiji Hindi: biin

Translations

plant of the Fabaceae family

German: Bohnenpflanze f Romagnol: fașöl m Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: bob m Walloon: feve (wa) f

seed of a Fabaceae plant

Acehnese: kacang Afrikaans: boontjie Albanian: bathë (sq) f, fasule (sq) f Altai: Southern Altai: мырчак (mïrčak) Amharic: ባቄላ (baḳela) Andi: гьоли (holi) Apache: Western Apache: béʼistsʼǫ́z Arabic: فَاصُولِيَا f (fāṣūliyā), لُوبِيَا f (lūbiyā) Egyptian Arabic: (collective) فول m (fūl), (singulative) فولة f (fūla) Aragonese: faba Argobba: ባቄላ (bāqelā) Armenian: լոբի (hy) (lobi), բակլա (hy) (bakla) Asturian: faba (ast) f Avar: гьоло (holo) Azerbaijani: lobya (az) Balinese: buncis Baluchi: ماک (mák) Basque: babarrun Belarusian: боб m (bob), фасо́ль f (fasólʹ) Bengali: সীম (śim), শিম (bn) (śim) Blackfoot: áótooksiinaattsi sg, áótooksiinattsiistsi pl Breton: favenn (br) f Bulgarian: боб (bg) m (bob), фасу́л (bg) m (fasúl) Burmese: ပဲ (my) (pai:) Catalan: fesol (ca) m, mongeta (ca) f Chakma: please add this translation if you can Chamicuro: mapolooto Cherokee: ᏚᏯ (duya) Chichewa: nyemba Chinese: Mandarin: 豆 (zh) (dòu) Cornish: faven f Czech: fazole (cs) f Danish: bønne c, bønner pl Dutch: boon (nl) f Erzya: покра (pokra) Esperanto: fabo Estonian: uba (et) Ewe: ayi n Faroese: bøna f Finnish: papu (fi) French: haricot (fr) m Frisian: North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum) buan m Saterland Frisian: Boone f West Frisian: beane c Galician: feixón (gl) m, faba (gl) f Ge'ez: ባቄላ (baḳela) Georgian: ლობიო (lobio) German: Bohne (de) f Greek: φασόλι (el) n (fasóli) Ancient Greek: φάσηλος m (phásēlos), κύαμος m (kúamos) Guarani: Mbya Guarani: kumanda Gujarati: please add this translation if you can Haitian Creole: pwa Hebrew: שְׁעוּעִית (he) f (sh'u'ít) Hindi: सेम (hi) f (sem) Hmong: White Hmong: noob taum, taum Hungarian: bab (hu), paszuly (hu) Hunsrik: Bohn f Icelandic: baun (is) f Ido: fabo (io) Indonesian: kacang (id) Ingrian: papu Inuktitut: nilernait Irish: pónaire (ga) f Italian: fagiolo (it) m Iu Mien: dopc Japanese: 豆 (ja) (mame), 隠元 (ja) (ingen) Jarai: rơtă Javanese: ꦏꦕꦁ (jv) (kacang) Old Javanese: kacaṅ Kazakh: бұршақ (kk) (buršaq) Khmer: សណ្ដែក (km) (sɑndaek) K'iche': kinaq' Kikuyu: mbosho Korean: 콩 (ko) (kong) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: فاسولیا (fasulya) Northern Kurdish: fasûlî (ku) f Kyrgyz: буурчак (ky) (buurcak) Ladino: ava, (Salonik) fijon, fasulya Lak: хъюру (quˤru) Lakota: omníča, (small wild bean) omníčahu Lao: ໝາກຖົ່ວ (lo) (māk thūa), ຖົ່ວ (thūa) Latin: faba f, phaseolus m Latvian: pupa (lv) f Ligurian: faxeu m Lingala: nkúnde Lithuanian: pupelė f, pupa (lt) f Lombard: fasoeul (lmo) m Low German: Boon f Lü: ᦷᦏᧈ (ṫho¹) Luhya: kamakanda Macedonian: грав (mk) m (grav), боб m (bob) Malagasy: tsaramaso (mg) Malay: kacang (ms) Maltese: fażola f, (broad bean) fula f Manchu: ᡨᡠᡵᡳ (turi) Manx: poanrey m Māori: piini Massachusett: tupahquam Mongolian: шош (mn) (šoš), буурцаг (mn) (buurcag) Nahuatl: etl (nah) Navajo: naaʼołí Neapolitan: fasulo Norman: haricot m Norwegian: bønne (no) c Occitan: mongeta (oc) f, favòl (oc) m Odia: please add this translation if you can Ojibwe: mashkodesimin, mashkodesiminag pl, miskodiisimin, miskodiisiminag pl Old Prussian: babo Oromo: baaqelaa Pannonian Rusyn: пасуля f (pasulja) Pennsylvania German: Buhn f Persian: لوبیا (fa) (lubiyâ), باقالا (bâqâlâ) Pipil: et Plautdietsch: Boon f Polish: fasola (pl) f Portuguese: feijão (pt) m Punjabi: please add this translation if you can Quechua: chuwi, jawas Réunion Creole French: zariko Rohingya: please add this translation if you can Romanian: fasole (ro) f, bob (ro) m Romansh: fav m, bagiauna f Russian: боб (ru) m (bob), фасо́ль (ru) f (fasólʹ) Sami: Northern Sami: báhpu Scottish Gaelic: pònair f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: па̀сӯљ m, гра̏х m Latin: pàsūlj (sh) m, grȁh (sh) m Shan: ထူဝ်ႇ (shn) (thò) Sicilian: faciola (scn) f Sinhalese: බෝංචි (si) (bōṁci) Slovak: fazuľa f Slovene: fižol (sl) m Somali: digir (so) Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: bobowka f Upper Sorbian: buna f Sotho: nawa (st) Spanish: haba (es) f, frijol (es) m, habichuela (es), (Spain) judía (es) f, alubia (es) f, (South America) poroto (es) m, (Venezuela) caraota (es) f, (rural Southeastern Mexico, uncommon) xpelón m Sundanese: please add this translation if you can Swahili: haragwe (sw) class 5/6 Swedish: böna (sv) c Tagalog: katsang Tai Dam: ꪖ꪿ꪺ Tajik: лӯбиё (lübiyo) Taos: tą́na Tarifit: baw m Thai: ถั่ว (th) (tùua) Tibetan: please add this translation if you can Tigrinya: ባልደንጓ (ti) (baldängʷa) Turkish: fasulye (tr), lobya (tr) Ottoman Turkish: فاصولیه (fasulya, fasulye) Turkmen: kösük, noýba Uab Meto: fue Ukrainian: біб (uk) m (bib), квасо́ля f (kvasólja), фасо́ля f (fasólja) Unami: malàxkwsit Urdu: لوبیا ? (lubiyā), سیم ? (sem) Uyghur: پۇرچاق (purchaq) Uzbek: loviya (uz) Vietnamese: đậu (vi) (豆) Walloon: feve (wa) f Welsh: ffa (cy) f Wintu: friholis pl Yiddish: באָב m (bob), בעבל n (bebl), פֿאַסאָליע f (fasolye) Yucatec Maya: iib Yup'ik: nelernaq

pod

Bulgarian: шушулка (bg) f (šušulka) Finnish: (as food) papu (fi), (otherwise) palko (fi) Lakota: suóžuha f Macedonian: мешунка f (mešunka) Navajo: naaʼołí Romanian: păstaie (ro) f, teacă (ro) f Russian: боб (ru) m (bob) Scottish Gaelic: pònair f Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: tšuka f, tšuk m Spanish: vaina (es) f Swahili: haragwe (sw) class 5/6

other bean-like seed

Bulgarian: боб (bg) m (bob) Finnish: papu (fi) Hebrew: פּוֹל (he) m (pol) Latvian: pupa (lv) f Malay: (of coffee) biji (ms) Polish: ziarno (pl) n Russian: боб (ru) m (bob), стручо́к (ru) m (stručók), зерно́ (ru) n (zernó) Scottish Gaelic: pònair f Slovak: zrnko n Spanish: grano (es) m Swahili: haragwe (sw) class 5/6

stuffing for beanbags and similar items

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Finnish: jyvä (fi)

slang: head or brain

Bulgarian: тиква (bg) f (tikva) Dutch: knikker (nl) m, kop (nl) m, harses (nl) pl Finnish: nuppi (fi), polla (fi)

guinea coin — see guinea

slang: money

Bulgarian: мангизи pl (mangizi) Finnish: lati (fi), penni (fi)

software: short for JavaBean

Esperanto: fabo German: Bean f Turkish: eleman (tr)

Verb

bean (third-person singular simple present beans, present participle beaning, simple past and past participle beaned)

1. (transitive, baseball) To hit with a projectile, especially a deliberately aimed blow to the head.

   The pitcher beaned the batter, rather than letting him hit another home run.

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, “IX–XI”, in Jeeves in the Offing:

     Though I shall have to exercise an iron self-restraint to keep me from beaning that pie-faced little hornswoggler Mrs Bertram Wooster, nee Wickham, with the shaker. […] ¶ dudgeon might easily lead her to reach for the ginger ale bottle and bean me with it.

Further reading

• “bean n.¹”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.
• “bean”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “bean”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Bane, Bena, bane, nabe

Basque

Noun

bean

1. inessive singular of be

Gagauz

Pronoun

bean (definite accusative beni, plural biz)

1. obsolete spelling of bän

Further reading

• Ciachir, Mihail (1938), “bean”, in Dicționar gagauzo (tiurco)–român pentru gagauzii din Basarabia (in Romanian), Chișinău, page 14

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /bʲan̪ˠ/
• (Galway) IPA^(key): /bʲænˠ/, (Cois Fharraige) [bʲæːn̪ˠ]
• (Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /bʲanˠ/

Etymology 1

PIE word
*gʷḗn

From Old Irish ben, from Proto-Celtic *benā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn.

Noun

bean f (genitive singular mná, nominative plural mná)

1. woman
2. wife

Declension

Declension of bean (irregular)

bare forms singular plural nominative bean mná vocative a bhean a mhná genitive mná ban dative bean mnaoi (archaic or dialectal) mná mnáibh (archaic) forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an bhean na mná genitive na mná na mban dative leis an mbean don bhean leis an mnaoi (archaic or dialectal) don mhnaoi (archaic or dialectal) leis na mná leis na mnáibh (archaic)

Derived terms

• áilleagán mná (“useless pretty woman”)
• alaisceach mná f (“big strong woman”)
• bean abhrais (“spinner”)
• bean aimrid (“barren woman”)
• bean an tí (“female householder”)
• bean chabhrach (“midwife”)
• bean chaointe (“keening woman”)
• bean chéile (“wife”)
• bean choibhche (“mistress”)
• bean choimhdeachta (“lady's maid”)
• bean choiteann (“prostitute”)
• bean chrosach (“palmist, fortune-teller”)
• bean Domhnaigh (“lazy, well-dressed woman”, literally “Sunday woman”)
• bean feasa (“wise woman, fortune-teller”)
• bean fuála (“needlewoman”)
• bean ghaoil (“female relative”)
• bean ghlúine (“midwife”)
• bean lóistín (“landlady”)
• bean luí (“concubine”)
• bean níocháin (“washerwoman”)
• bean rialta (“nun”)
• bean seoil (“woman in childbirth”)
• bean seolta (“woman in childbirth”)
• bean sí (“banshee, fairy woman”)
• bean siúil (“travelling woman”)
• bean snáthaide (“needlewoman”)
• bean sráide (“prostitute”)
• bean thíosach (“good housewife”)
• bean tí (“housewife; housekeeper”)
• bean tíre (“countrywoman”)
• bean tuaithe (“countrywoman”)
• bean uasal (“lady”)
• bunbhean (“middle-aged woman”)
• callaire mná (“scold”)
• dochtúir ban (“gynaecologist”)
• drochbhean (“bad woman”)
• éigean mná (“rape”)
• lia ban (“gynaecologist”)
• liacht bhan (“gynaecology”)
• macaomh mná (“girl, young woman”)
• maistín mná (“virago”)
• ógbhean (“young woman”)
• puisbhean (“aging spinster”)
• raibiléir mná (“harlot, hussy”)
• ropaire mná (“virago”)
• scafaire mná (“strapping girl”)
• seanbhean (“old woman”)
• siollaire mná (“strong comely woman”)
• stiúireachán mná (“virago”)

Pronoun

bean

1. one (of women, girls)

   Tá triúr iníonacha agam; tá bean acu trasinscneach.

   I have three daughters; one of them is transgender.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “bean”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “bean”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla [Irish and English Dictionary], 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 60
• “bean”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

Etymology 2

From Old Irish benaid (“beat, strike”).

Verb

bean (present analytic beanann, future analytic beanfaidh, verbal noun beant, past participle beanta)

1. (ambitransitive) alternative form of bain

Inflection

Conjugation of bean (first conjugation – A)

indicative	singular	plural	direct relative	autonomous
first	second	third	first	second	third
present	beanaim	beanann tú; beanair†	beanann sé, sí	beanaimid; beanann muid	beanann sibh	beanann siad; beanaid†	a bheanann; a bheanas	beantar
past	bhean mé; bheanas	bhean tú; bheanais	bhean sé, sí	bheanamar; bhean muid	bhean sibh; bheanabhair	bhean siad; bheanadar	a bhean	beanadh
past habitual	bheanainn / beanainn‡	bheantá / beantá‡	bheanadh sé, sí / beanadh sé, sí‡	bheanaimis; bheanadh muid / beanaimis‡; beanadh muid‡	bheanadh sibh / beanadh sibh‡	bheanaidís; bheanadh siad / beanaidís‡; beanadh siad‡	a bheanadh	bheantaí / beantaí‡
	singular	plural	direct relative	autonomous
first	second	third	first	second	third
future	beanfaidh mé; beanfad	beanfaidh tú; beanfair†	beanfaidh sé, sí	beanfaimid; beanfaidh muid	beanfaidh sibh	beanfaidh siad; beanfaid†	a bheanfaidh; a bheanfas	beanfar
conditional	bheanfainn / beanfainn‡	bheanfá / beanfá‡	bheanfadh sé, sí / beanfadh sé, sí‡	bheanfaimis; bheanfadh muid / beanfaimis‡; beanfadh muid‡	bheanfadh sibh / beanfadh sibh‡	bheanfaidís; bheanfadh siad / beanfaidís‡; beanfadh siad‡	a bheanfadh	bheanfaí / beanfaí‡
subjunctive	singular	plural	direct relative	autonomous
first	second	third	first	second	third
present	go mbeana mé; go mbeanad†	go mbeana tú; go mbeanair†	go mbeana sé, sí	go mbeanaimid; go mbeana muid	go mbeana sibh	go mbeana siad; go mbeanaid†	—	go mbeantar
past	dá mbeanainn	dá mbeantá	dá mbeanadh sé, sí	dá mbeanaimis; dá mbeanadh muid	dá mbeanadh sibh	dá mbeanaidís; dá mbeanadh siad	—	dá mbeantaí
imperative	singular	plural	direct relative	autonomous
first	second	third	first	second	third
—	beanaim	bean	beanadh sé, sí	beanaimis	beanaigí; beanaidh†	beanaidís	—	beantar
past participle	beanta
verbal noun	beant

^† archaic or dialect form
^‡ dependent form

Mutation

Mutated forms of bean

radical	lenition	eclipsis
bean	bhean	mbean

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “bean”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla [Irish and English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 88; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “bean”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Middle English

Etymology 1

Verb

bean

1. alternative form of been (“to be”)

Etymology 2

Noun

bean

1. alternative form of bene (“bean”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• bīen

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *baunu.

Cognates

Cognate with Old Frisian bāne, bām (West Frisian bean), Old Saxon bōna (Low German Bohn), Dutch boon, Old High German bōna (German Bohne), Old Norse baun (Danish bønne, Swedish böna).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bæ͜ɑːn/
• Rhymes: -æ͜ɑːn

Noun

bēan f (nominative plural bēana or bēane)

1. bean (especially the broad bean)

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	bēan	bēana, bēane
accusative	bēane	bēana, bēane
genitive	bēane	bēana
dative	bēane	bēanum

Descendants

• Middle English: bene, beane, beene, beyn, ben, bean
  • English: bean
  • Scots: bein, bene
  • Yola: beanès, beanes, baanès, baanes, banès (plural)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French béjaune.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛ.an/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛan
• Syllabification: be‧an

Noun

bean m animal

1. (archaic) greenhorn

   Synonym: żółtodziób

2. (archaic) rude person

   Synonyms: cham, prostak

Further reading

• “bean”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish ben, from Old Irish ben. Cognates include Irish bean and Manx ben.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b̥ɛ̃n/, (Lewis) [b̥æ̃n]

Noun

bean f

1. wife
2. (archaic) woman

   Synonym: boireannach

Declension

Declension of bean (irregular feminine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	bean	mnathan mnai (archaic)
genitive	mnà mnatha mnathadh (archaic, dialectal)	ban
dative	bean mnaoi (archaic)	mnathan mnathaibh (archaic)
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(a') bhean	(na) mnathan (na) mnai (archaic)
genitive	(na) mnà (na) mnatha (na) mnathadh (archaic, dialectal)	(nam) ban
dative	(a') bhean (a') mhnaoi (archaic)	(na) mnathan (na) mnathaibh (archaic)
vocative	(a) bhean	(a) mhnathan

Derived terms

• ban-
• bana-
• bean bhàsail
• bean-

Mutation

Mutation of bean

radical	lenition
bean	bhean

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911), “bean”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Mark, Colin (2003), “bean”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 68

Swedish

Noun

bean

1. definite singular of bea

West Frisian

Alternative forms

• beane, beanne

Etymology

From Old Frisian bāne, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu.

Cognate with Dutch boon, English bean, German Bohne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪə̯n/

Noun

bean c (plural beanen, diminutive beantsje)

1. bean

Further reading

• “bean”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011