chickpea
Americannoun
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Also called garbanzo. a widely cultivated plant, Cicer arietinum, of the legume family, bearing pods containing pealike seeds.
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the seeds of this plant, used extensively as a food.
noun
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a bushy leguminous plant, Cicer arietinum, cultivated for its edible pealike seeds in the Mediterranean region, central Asia, and Africa
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Also called: garbanzo. the seed of this plant
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chickpea
1540–50; alteration of chich-pea, equivalent to late Middle English chiche (< Middle French ≪ Latin cicer chickpea) + pea 1
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing chickpea
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last night, I had a spoonful of leftover Radish and Chickpea Salad on one side and Artichoke Potato Salad on the other, and I was in salad heaven.
From Salon • May 9, 2024
I subbed fresh shell beans for the Marinated Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Swiss Chard and ended up with a dish somehow even better after a day in the fridge.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2023
I devoured the battered, fried cauliflower covered in the tingly sauce I was served at the last football party I attended, and Joe Yonan’s Buffalo Chickpea Nachos are on my short list.
From Washington Post • Feb. 3, 2022
"This lightened-up vegan carrot cake bread is the perfect snack when you want something a little sweet yet healthy," says Eliza Schuett, The Hangry Chickpea.
From Fox News • Jan. 9, 2022
Chickpea and sweet potato stew Onion, garlic, red pepper, sweet smoked paprika, stock and sweet potatoes.
From The Guardian • Nov. 24, 2018
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
