Indian bean

noun

1. catalpa.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indian bean¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

Now, however, a handful of Indian farmers and entrepreneurs are trying to hook some of their compatriots on coffee by selling gourmet, freshly roasted Indian beans to a burgeoning urban middle class.

From Los Angeles Times

A cloud of the perfume of a West Indian bean went up from it, sweet and warm.

From Project Gutenberg

Several canoes came off to them in the morning of the 5th, bringing Indian beans, rice, tobacco, and two beautiful birds of paradise, all white and yellow.

From Project Gutenberg

The kidney-shaped West Indian bean, which is sometimes driven upon the shore of the Feroes, is termed, by the natives "the Fairie's kidney."

From Project Gutenberg

For a whole month they had no other subsistence but the flesh of lean horses and dogs, and a small supply of Indian beans, which some friendly Cherokee women procured for them by stealth.

From Project Gutenberg