Pea \Pea\, n.; pl. Peas (p[=e]z) or Pease (p[=e]z). [OE.
pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum;
cf. Gr. pi`sos, pi`son. The final s was misunderstood in
English as a plural ending. Cf. Pease.]
1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus Pisum, of
many varieties, much cultivated for food. It has a
papilionaceous flower, and the pericarp is a legume,
popularly called a pod.
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Note: When a definite number, more than one, is spoken of,
the plural form peas is used; as, the pod contained
nine peas; but, in a collective sense, the form pease
is preferred; as, a bushel of pease; they had pease at
dinner. This distinction is not always preserved, the
form peas being used in both senses.
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2. A name given, especially in the Southern States, to the
seed of several leguminous plants (species of Dolichos,
Cicer, Abrus, etc.) esp. those having a scar (hilum)
of a different color from the rest of the seed.
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Note: The name pea is given to many leguminous plants more or
less closely related to the common pea. See the
Phrases, below.
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Beach pea (Bot.), a seashore plant, Lathyrus maritimus.
Black-eyed pea, a West Indian name for Dolichos
sph[ae]rospermus and its seed.
Butterfly pea, the American plant Clitoria Mariana,
having showy blossoms.
Chick pea. See Chick-pea.
Egyptian pea. Same as Chick-pea.
Everlasting pea. See under Everlasting.
Glory pea. See under Glory, n.
Hoary pea, any plant of the genus Tephrosia; goat's rue.
Issue pea, Orris pea. (Med.) See under Issue, and
Orris.
Milk pea. (Bot.) See under Milk.
Pea berry, a kind of a coffee bean or grain which grows
single, and is round or pea-shaped; often used
adjectively; as, pea-berry coffee.
Pea bug. (Zool.) Same as Pea weevil.
Pea coal, a size of coal smaller than nut coal.
Pea crab (Zool.), any small crab of the genus
Pinnotheres, living as a commensal in bivalves; esp.,
the European species (Pinnotheres pisum) which lives in
the common mussel and the cockle.
Pea dove (Zool.), the American ground dove.
Pea-flower tribe (Bot.), a suborder (Papilionace[ae]) of
leguminous plants having blossoms essentially like that of
the pea. --G. Bentham.
Pea maggot (Zool.), the larva of a European moth (Tortrix
pisi), which is very destructive to peas.
Pea ore (Min.), argillaceous oxide of iron, occurring in
round grains of a size of a pea; pisolitic ore.
Pea starch, the starch or flour of the common pea, which is
sometimes used in adulterating wheat flour, pepper, etc.
Pea tree (Bot.), the name of several leguminous shrubs of
the genus Caragana, natives of Siberia and China.
Pea vine. (Bot.)
(a) Any plant which bears peas.
(b) A kind of vetch or tare, common in the United States
(Lathyrus Americana, and other similar species).
Pea weevil (Zool.), a small weevil (Bruchus pisi) which
destroys peas by eating out the interior.
Pigeon pea. (Bot.) See Pigeon pea.
Sweet pea (Bot.), the annual plant Lathyrus odoratus;
also, its many-colored, sweet-scented blossoms.
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Pigeon \Pi"geon\, n. [F., fr. L. pipio a young pipping or
chirping bird, fr. pipire to peep, chirp. Cf. Peep to
chirp.]
1. (Zool.) Any bird of the order Columb[ae], of which
numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world.
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Note: The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from
the Old World rock pigeon or rock dove (Columba
livia), common in cities. It has given rise to
numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the
carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common
wild pigeon of the Eastern United States is the
Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura, called also
Carolina dove). Before the 19th century, the most
common pigeon was the passenger pigeon, but that
species is now extinct. See Passenger pigeon, and
Carolina dove under Dove. See, also, Fruit
pigeon, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, Stock
pigeon, under Fruit, Ground, etc.
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2. An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull. [Slang]
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Blue pigeon (Zool.), an Australian passerine bird
(Graucalus melanops); -- called also black-faced crow.
Green pigeon (Zool.), any one of numerous species of Old
World pigeons belonging to the family Treronid[ae].
Imperial pigeon (Zool.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit
pigeons of the genus Carpophada.
Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the
pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed.
Pigeon English [perhaps a corruption of business English],
an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the
commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication
between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is
English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindustani.
--Johnson's Cyc.
Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass (Setaria
glauca), of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly
eaten by pigeons and other birds.
Pigeon hawk. (Zool.)
(a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The
adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with
black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked
with brown. The tail is banded.
(b) The American sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter velox or
Accipiter fuscus).
Pigeon hole.
(a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house.
(b) See Pigeonhole.
(c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled
through little arches. --Halliwell.
Pigeon house, a dovecote.
Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of
pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the
plant itself.
Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African
species of Chrysobalanus (Chrysobalanus ellipticus and
Chrysobalanus luteus).
Pigeon tremex. (Zool.) See under Tremex.
Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood
of several very different kinds of trees, species of
Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba.
Pigeon woodpecker (Zool.), the flicker.
Prairie pigeon. (Zool.)
(a) The upland plover.
(b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.]
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