Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Bean has 8 different meanings across 3 categories:
Noun · Verb · Proper Noun
any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae used for food
"The chef added a handful of dried beans to the pot to thicken the soup."
any of various seeds or fruits that are beans or resemble beans
"The gardener harvested a bushel of fresh green beans from the vine."
any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods
"The farmer planted rows of bean in the garden to harvest the nutritious pods later in the summer."
Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
"The chef added a cup of dried bean to the slow cooker to create a hearty stew."
In plain English: A bean is a small seed that people grow on plants and often eat as food.
"I added some beans to my soup for extra protein."
Usage: Use this word to refer specifically to small legumes like kidney beans or coffee plants rather than generic round objects. As a verb, it describes hitting someone on the head with an object such as a ball or bat.
hit on the head, especially with a pitched baseball
"The batter winced after being beaned by a sharp line drive from the pitcher."
To hit deliberately with a projectile, especially in the head.
"The prankster beaned his friend on the forehead with an egg during lunch."
In plain English: To bean someone means to hit them with your fist, usually as part of an argument or fight.
"He beans the ball against the wall with his racket."
A surname.
"Many people in the village shared the Bean family name, but they all had different first names."
The word "bean" comes directly from the Middle and Old English words for it. It has been used in English with this same meaning since ancient times, traveling through Germanic languages back to its roots in Proto-Indo-European.