cowpea

[ kou-pee ]

noun

1. a plant, Vigna unguiculata, extensively cultivated in the southern U.S. for forage, soil improvement, etc.
2. the seed of this plant, used for food.

cowpea

/ ˈkaʊˌpiː /

noun

1. a leguminous tropical climbing plant, Vigna sinensis, producing long pods containing edible pealike seeds: grown for animal fodder and sometimes as human food
2. Also calledblack-eyed pea the seed of this plant

Word History and Origins

Origin of cowpea¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; cow ¹ + pea ¹

Example Sentences

The treatment, composed of nanoparticles fashioned from the cowpea mosaic virus -- a virus that infects black-eyed pea plants -- showed remarkable success in improving survival rates and suppressing the growth of metastatic tumors across various cancer models, including colon, ovarian, melanoma and breast cancer.

From Science Daily

Steinmetz and colleagues have been using cowpea mosaic virus nanoparticles to trigger the immune system to fight cancer and prevent it from spreading and recurring.

From Science Daily

To make the nanoparticles, the researchers grew black-eyed pea plants in the lab and infected them with cowpea mosaic virus.

From Science Daily

Mice injected with cowpea mosaic virus nanoparticles -- and then challenged with metastatic tumors a week later -- exhibited improved survival rates and reduced tumor growth compared to untreated mice.

From Science Daily

Future studies will also focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying the immune-boosting properties of cowpea mosaic virus nanoparticles.

From Science Daily