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

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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

The right kidney, weighing 23-1/2 ounces, is shaped like a French bean, and extends from the loins forward to beneath the heads of the last two ribs.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Charles B. Michener

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

It is found particularly so to those of the forced French bean, melon; peach, vine, cherry, currant, and some other kinds.

From The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families by Mary Eaton

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

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