fa·va bean 
(fävə)
(fävə)n.
1. An annual Old World plant (Vicia faba) in the pea family, having pinnately compound leaves, white flowers with lateral purplish blotches, and long thick pods.
2. The edible seed or green pod of this plant. In both senses also called broad bean, horse bean.
[Italian fava, from Latin faba; see bha-bhā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]