French bean

American  

noun

1. British. the pod of a green bean or wax bean, eaten as a vegetable.

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French bean British  

noun

1. a small twining bushy or annual bean plant, Phaseolus vulgaris , with white or lilac flowers and slender green edible pods

2. the pod of this plant See also haricot

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Etymology

Origin of French bean

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

French bean

After all, when Bunthorne asked for a not-too-French French bean he showed more commonsense than he intended.

From Books and Characters French and English by Giles Lytton Strachey

Gilbert, again, in Patience has a reference to "a not-too-French French bean" that suggests a ribald estimate of this family of plants.

From The Pleasures of Ignorance by Robert Lynd

It has even been seen to venture to a considerable distance from water, crossing a large field, making its way into a garden, and carrying off several pods of the French bean.

From The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 355, October 16, 1886 by Charles Peters

A half-dwarf, French bean, similar in habit to the Dwarf Sabre.

From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Fearing Burr

The seed leaves of the French bean are white when they come out of the earth, but they become green an hour afterward under the influence of bright sunshine.

From Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures. by Various