lentil Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun round flat seed of the lentil plant used for food
  2. noun the fruit or seed of a lentil plant
  3. noun widely cultivated Eurasian annual herb grown for its edible flattened seeds that are cooked like peas and also ground into meal and for its leafy stalks that are used as fodder
    lentil plant; Lens culinaris.

WordNet

Len"til noun
Etymology
F. lentille, fr. L. lenticula, dim. of lens, lentis, lentil. Cf. Lens.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A leguminous plant of the genus Ervum (Ervum Lens), of small size, common in the fields in Europe. Also, its seed, which is used for food on the continent. ✍ The lentil of the Scriptures probably included several other vetchlike plants.

Webster 1913