释义 |
bean I. \ˈbēn\ noun (-s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English bene, from Old English bēan; akin to Old High German bōna bean, Old Norse baun, and probably to Latin faba bean, Greek phakos lentil 1. a. : broad bean b. : the seed of any of various other erect or climbing leguminous plants especially of the genera Phaseolus, Dolichos, and Vigna — see kidney bean, lima bean, sieva bean, snap bean c. : a plant bearing beans b. : a bean pod used when immature as a vegetable 2. a. : a valueless item < not worth a bean > b. slang Britain : a sovereign or a guinea c. : a small amount of money < he didn't have a bean when they were married > < haven't spent a bean on it in years > d. slang : dollar e. beans plural : an appreciable amount < he doesn't know beans about it > < I haven't heard beans about the matter lately > 3. a. : any of various seeds or fruits that resemble beans < a coffee bean > < catalpa beans littering the walk > b. : any of several plants producing such beans — usually used in combination < a field of castor beans > — see black bean, coral bean 4. a. : a bean used in balloting b. : a man that becomes leader of Twelfth Night festivities through having drawn a piece of cake containing a bean 5. : something felt to resemble a bean: as a. : a protuberance on the upper mandible of waterfowl (as of certain geese) — see goose illustration b. : a nipple or similar device placed in an oil-well line to restrict the flow of the oil c. : a hardened mass of fatty secretion in the sheath of a stallion or gelding that if allowed to accumulate may block the urethra causing colicky pain and impeding urination 6. slang a. beans plural : beating, punishment, pain, censure — usually used with give < giving the enemy beans when they came within range > < giving the opposition beans in a stinging speech > b. : head, skull, brain < every whim and caprice which enters his bean — Henry Miller > II. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: bean (I) (head) : to strike typically with a hurled or propelled object and on the head < a caddie beaned by a wild shot > specifically : to hit (a baseball batter) especially on the head with a pitched ball III. noun 1. beans plural : exuberance — used in the phrase full of beans 2. beans plural : nonsense — used in the phrase full of beans |