Adjacent Words

tonka bean definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: fragrant black nutlike seeds of the tonka bean tree; used in perfumes and medicines and as a substitute for vanilla [syn: tonka bean, coumara nut]
2: tall tropical South American tree having pulpy egg-shaped pods of fragrant black almond-shaped seeds used for flavoring [syn: tonka bean, tonka bean tree, Coumarouna odorata, Dipteryx odorata]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Dutch tonka(-boon) & Portuguese (fava-)tonca, perhaps of Cariban origin Date: 1796 the coumarin-containing seed of any of several tropical American leguminous trees (genus Dipteryx, especially D. odorata) that is used in perfumes and as an artificial vanilla flavoring; also a tree bearing tonka beans

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the black fragrant seed of a South American tree, Dipteryx odorata, used in perfumery etc. Etymology: tonka, its name in Guyana, + BEAN

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tonka bean Ton"ka bean` [Cf. F. onca, tonka.] (Bot.) The seed of a leguminous tree (Dipteryx odorata), native of Guiana. It has a peculiarly agreeable smell, and is employed in the scenting of snuff. Called also tonquin bean. [Written also tonca bean, tonga bean.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bean Bean (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw. b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.] 1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the herbs. Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, D. Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the lower bush bean, Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph. lunatus; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. maltiflorus; Windsor bean, the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris. As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables. 2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less resembling true beans. Bean aphis (Zo["o]l.), a plant louse (Aphis fab[ae]) which infests the bean plant. Bean fly (Zo["o]l.), a fly found on bean flowers. Bean goose (Zo["o]l.), a species of goose (Anser segetum). Bean weevil (Zo["o]l.), a small weevil that in the larval state destroys beans. The American species in Bruchus fab[ae]. Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments. Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species of Strychnos. Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce; probably so called because an important article of food in the navy. Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the edible white bean; -- so called from its size. Sacred bean. See under Sacred. Screw bean. See under Screw. Sea bean. (a) Same as Florida bean. (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament. Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree. Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.