Where does “cowpea” come from?
Cowpea derives from English cow and pea, with cow tracing back through Old Norse kúga and Old English cū to Proto-Indo-European gʷṓws, meaning bovine animal.
cowpea (English): Any of the plants in the species "Vigna...
Definitions
- Any of the plants in the species "Vigna...
Ancestry of “cowpea”, step by step
cowpea traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pea
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pea | Any of certain plants of the family Fabaceae: Pisum sativum and others |
| 2 | English | pease | To make peace between (conflicting people, states etc.); to reconcile |
| 3 | Middle English | pese | A pea; The leguminous plant Pisum sativum;... |
| 4 | Old English | pise | pea |
| 5 | Late Latin | pisa | nominative plural of pisum; accusative plural of... |
| 6 | Latin | pīsum | pea, pease |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πίσον | Quoted by comic poet Alexis; pea, pease, seed of... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πίσος | pea, pease, seed of "Pisum sativum" |