Round, tan-colored legumes commonly used in Mediterranean, Indian, and Middle Eastern cooking.
From Old French 'chiche' (from Latin 'cicer,' the plant) + 'peas' (from Old English 'pease'). The 'chick' part is a folk etymology reassociation.
Chickpeas have been cultivated for over 9,000 years and were a staple protein source before anyone knew about amino acids—ancient peoples intuitively paired them with grains to create complete proteins.
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