<P> A bean is a seed of one of several genera of the flowering plant family Fabaceae, which are used for human or animal food . </P> <P> The word "bean" and its Germanic cognates (e.g., Bohne) have existed in common use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century, referring to broad beans and other pod - borne seeds . This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe . After Columbian - era contact between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod - borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna . The term has long been applied generally to many other seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans, peas, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), other vetches, and lupins, and even to those with slighter resemblances, such as coffee beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans . Thus the term "bean" in general usage can mean a host of different species . </P>

A plant that produces a type of bean