Pea

A pea (Pisum[?] sativum) is the small round green seed which grows in a pod on a leguminous vine. Several other seeds of the family Fabaceae, most of them round, are also called peas.

According to etymologists, the term was taken from Latin and adopted into English as the singular term "pease." However, by analogy with other plurals ending in "-s", speakers began construing "pease" as a plural and constructing the singular form by dropping the "s", giving us the term "pea". This process is known in linguistics as back-formation.

Peas are cooked as a vegetable in many cultures.

Ways of eating peas

Dried peas are often made into a soup or simply eaten on their own. Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavored with butter as a side dish vegetable. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Pod peas are used in stir fried dishes. In the UK, dried and rehydrated marrowfat peas, usually known as "mushy peas", are popular, particularly in the north of England, and especially as an accompaniment to fish and chips or meat pies.

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Peas is also the name of a commune of the Marne département in France.