chickpea

/ˌtʃɪkˈpi/

/ˈtʃɪkpi/

Other forms: chickpeas

A chickpea is a delicious, round bean that's also known as a garbanzo. Try roasting chickpeas for a crunchy snack, or make falafel by grinding them, shaping them into balls, and frying them.

If you've tasted hummus, you know what chickpeas taste like — at least when they've been pureed with garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. It's also common to toss chickpeas into salads, cook them in stews and soups, and grind them into flour for baking. In the 18th century, chickpea evolved from chich-pease, which is rooted in the Latin word for "pea," cicer. Historians have found evidence that chickpeas were around as long ago as 3500 BCE.

Definitions of chickpea

1. noun

   Asiatic herb cultivated for its short pods with one or two edible seeds
   synonyms: Cicer arietinum, Egyptian pea, chickpea plant

   type of:

   legume, leguminous plant

   an erect or climbing bean or pea plant of the family Leguminosae
2. noun

   the seed of the chickpea plant
   synonyms: garbanzo

   type of:

   legume

   the fruit or seed of any of various bean or pea plants consisting of a case that splits along both sides when ripe and having the seeds attach to one side of the case
3. noun

   large white roundish Asiatic legume; usually dried
   synonyms: garbanzo

   type of:

   legume

   the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas, beans, or lentils)