cowpea

American  

[kou-pee] / ˈkaʊˌpi /

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.

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cowpea British  

/ 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 called: black-eyed pea.  the seed of this plant

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Etymology

Origin of cowpea

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

Example Sentences

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 • May 13, 2024

Cultures throughout human history have had their own favored intercropping systems with similar synergies, such as tumeric and mango or millet, cowpea and ziziphus, commonly known as red date.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2023

Anna Koltunow of the University of Queensland is developing apomictic varieties of sorghum and cowpea, important crops for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

From Science Magazine • May 17, 2023

The slave trade introduced the cowpea to the Americas, but rice-and-bean dishes already were being made and eaten in areas where rice grew wild.

From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2022

“You mix the cowpea flour and palm oil, then you steam-cook for hours. You think you can ever get just the cowpea flour? Or just the palm oil?”

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie