cowpea

/ˌkaʊˈpi/

Other forms: cowpeas

Definitions of cowpea

1. noun

   sprawling Old World annual cultivated especially in southern United States for food and forage and green manure
   synonyms: Vigna sinensis, Vigna unguiculata, black-eyed pea, cowpea plant

   type of:

   legume, leguminous plant

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

   fruit or seed of the cowpea plant
   synonyms: black-eyed pea

   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

   eaten fresh as shell beans or dried
   synonyms: black-eyed pea

   type of:

   legume

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