Chick-pea /(-pē`)/

Chick·-pea

Chick-pea

n.
  1. A Small leguminous plant (Cicer arietinum) of Asia, Africa, and the south of Europe; the chich; the dwarf pea; the gram. (Bot.)
  2. Its nutritious seed, used in cookery, and especially, when roasted (parched pulse), as food for travelers in the Eastern deserts.