egyptian bean

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Egyptian bean
    n 1: perennial twining vine of Old World tropics having
         trifoliate leaves and racemes of fragrant purple pea-like
         flowers followed by maroon pods of edible seeds; grown as
         an ornamental and as a vegetable on the Indian
         subcontinent; sometimes placed in genus Dolichos [syn:
         {hyacinth bean}, {bonavist}, {Indian bean}, {Egyptian
         bean}, {Lablab purpureus}, {Dolichos lablab}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Egyptian \E*gyp"tian\, a. [L. Aegyptius, Gr. ?, fr. ? (L.
   Aegyptus) Egypt: cf. F. ['e]gyptien. Cf. {Gypsy}.]
   Pertaining to Egypt, in Africa.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Egyptian bean}. (Bot.)
   (a) The beanlike fruit of an aquatic plant ({Nelumbium
       speciosum}), somewhat resembling the water lily.
   (b) See under {Bean}, 1.

   {Egyptian cross}. See Illust. (No. 6) of {Cross}.

   {Egyptian thorn} (Bot.), a medium-sized tree ({Acacia vera}).
      It is one of the chief sources of the best gum arabic.
      [1913 Webster]