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n. 1. An annual Asian plant (Cicer arietinum) in the pea family, widely cultivated for the edible seeds in its short inflated pods. 2. A seed of this plant. In both senses also called garbanzo. [Alteration (perhaps influenced by chick) of obsolete chichpease : Middle English chiche, chickpea (from Old French, from Latin cicer; akin to Armenian siseṙn, both Latin and Armenian being loanwords from an unknown source) + pease, pea; see PEA.] |
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