soya
/ˈsɔɪə
/noun [mass noun] British
1Protein derived from the beans of an Asian plant, used as a replacement for animal protein in certain foods.My one slight concern about his diet is that it is based around just a couple of core foods; namely soya and wheat....
- Patients with gout should avoid high quality protein foods like non-vegetarian food and soya.
- The protein content in soya is substantially high when compared to pulses, they said.
2The widely cultivated plant of the pea family which produces soya beans.
- Glycine max, family Leguminosae.
- So far Argentina has approved crop trials for various cultivars of sunflower, maize, alfalfa, wheat, soya and potato.
- It used to be described as the bread basket of southern Africa, with neat fields of maize and soya growing in rich red soil and farmers notching up world records for yields.
Origin
Late 17th century: from Dutch soja, from Malay soi (see soy).