garbanzo

noun

gar·​ban·​zo gär-ˈbän-(ˌ)zō How to pronounce garbanzo (audio)
also -ˈban-
plural garbanzos
: chickpea

Examples of garbanzo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The dressing for the antipasto salad works equally as well with the more simple, garbanzo and black bean salad. — Rita Nader Heikenfeld, The Enquirer, 25 May 2024 The soup is coconut curry garbanzo; the salad has collards, arugula, beets, and a yogurt dill dressing. — Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 7 Mar. 2024 Beans like navy, black, garbanzo, kidney, pinto, and lima beans are rich in fiber, protein, and key minerals like magnesium and potassium. — Jillian Kubala, Health, 5 Nov. 2025 The doner basket, another house fave, features a salad and fries topped with a choice of proteins, tzatziki, feta, pepperoncinis, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, olives, crispy garbanzo, a falafel ball, hummus and a fried pita. — Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for garbanzo

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish (earlier usually garvanço), alteration (perhaps by blending with garroba "carob, algaroba" or gálbana "kind of pea") of earlier arvanço, ervanço, of uncertain origin

Note: Recorded as arbānsuš or arbānšuš among Hispanic words in the Arabic pharmacopoeia Kitāb al-Mustaʻīnī of Yūsuf bin Isḥāq ibn Baklāriš (ca. 1106). As noted by Joan Coromines (Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico), Greek erébinthos "chickpea" is unlikely to be the immediate source; the change i > a is ad hoc, and the outcome of -th- as z/ç is questionable. The initial arv-/erv- is comparable with a widespread group of words presumably of Mediterranean substratal origin—in addition to Greek erébinthos and órobos "the vetch Vicia ervilia," there are Latin ervum "the vetch Vicia ervilia," Germanic *arw(a)-(a)itō "pea" (whence Old High German araweiz, Old Saxon eriwit, erit, Old Norse ertr), Middle Irish orbaind "grains." The suffix of the Spanish word (*-antio?) is of obscure origin.

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of garbanzo was in 1712

Phrases Containing garbanzo

Browse Nearby Words

garbage worm
garbanzo
garbanzo bean
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Garbanzo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garbanzo. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

garbanzo

noun
gar·​ban·​zo gär-ˈbän-zō How to pronounce garbanzo (audio)
plural garbanzos
: chickpea

called also garbanzo bean

More from Merriam-Webster on garbanzo

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about garbanzo

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