Pēa, n.

n.; pl. PĒAS, or PĒASE. [Fr. pois, O. Fr. peis, A-S. pisa, piosa, Lat. pisum, pisa, Gr. πίσον.] (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus Pisum, of many varieties, much cultivated for food. It has a papilionaceous flower, and the pericarp is a legume, called, in popular language, a pod.

☞ When a definite number is referred to, the plural is written peas; as, two peas, five peas; but when an indefinite quantity or bulk is spoken of, it is written pease.