From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
bean
n 1: any of various edible seeds of plants of the family
Leguminosae [syn: edible bean]
2: any of various seeds or fruits suggestive of beans
3: any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible
seeds and pods [syn: bean plant]
4: informal terms for a human head [syn: attic, bonce,
noodle, noggin, dome]
v : hit on the head, esp. with a pitched baseball
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Bean \Bean\ (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D.
boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw.
b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous
herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and
Dolichos; also, to the herbs.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still
doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and
China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black
Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, Dolichos Lablab; the
common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and
pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the
lower bush bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus;
Lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus; Spanish bean and
scarlet runner, Phaseolus multiflorus; Windsor bean,
the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris.
[1913 Webster] As an article of food beans are classed
with vegetables.
[1913 Webster]
2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more
or less resembling true beans.
[1913 Webster]
Bean aphis (Zool.), a plant louse ({Aphis fab[ae]}) which
infests the bean plant.
Bean fly (Zool.), a fly found on bean flowers.
Bean goose (Zool.), a species of goose (Anser segetum).
Bean weevil (Zool.), a small weevil that in the larval
state destroys beans. The American species is {Bruchus
fab[ae]}.
Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West
Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida
shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments.
Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species
of Strychnos.
Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce;
probably so called because an important article of food in
the navy.
Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the
edible white bean; -- so called from its size.
Sacred bean. See under Sacred.
Screw bean. See under Screw.
Sea bean.
(a) Same as Florida bean.
(b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament.
Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of
Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree.
Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.
[1913 Webster]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
bean
JavaBeans