Definition

Noun: 1. A type of bean: A small, pale bean with a distinctive black spot ("eye"), eaten either fresh in the pod or dried. It is a subspecies of the cowpea. 2. The plant producing this bean: A sprawling annual plant (Vigna unguiculata), originally from the Old World, cultivated for its edible beans, as animal forage, or to improve soil (green manure). 3. The seed or pod of this plant: The edible fruit or seed produced by the cowpea plant.

Examples

• As a food item:
  • For dinner, we had rice and black-eyed peas.
  • She soaked the black-eyed peas overnight before cooking them.
• Referring to the plant:
  • The black-eyed pea is a hardy crop that tolerates heat well.
  • Farmers sometimes plant black-eyed peas as a cover crop.

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Significance: In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is considered a tradition thought to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year.
  • Example: Our family always makes Hoppin' John with black-eyed peas on January 1st.

Variants and Related Words

• Cowpea: The broader species name for the plant that produces black-eyed peas.
• Southern pea: A common regional name in the United States for the black-eyed pea and similar beans.

Synonyms

• Cowpea (when referring to the bean or plant species).
• Field pea (in some contexts, though this can refer to other types of peas).

Noun

1. eaten fresh as shell beans or dried
2. sprawling Old World annual cultivated especially in southern United States for food and forage and green manure
3. fruit or seed of the cowpea plant