VETCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vetch mean? 

• VETCH (noun)
  The noun VETCH has 1 sense:

1. any of various climbing plants of the genus Vicia having pinnately compound leaves that terminate in tendrils and small variously colored flowers; includes valuable forage and soil-building plants

  Familiarity information: VETCH used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VETCH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various climbing plants of the genus Vicia having pinnately compound leaves that terminate in tendrils and small variously colored flowers; includes valuable forage and soil-building plants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("vetch" is a kind of...):

legume; leguminous plant (an erect or climbing bean or pea plant of the family Leguminosae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "vetch"):

tare (any of several weedy vetches grown for forage)

bird vetch; Calnada pea; tufted vetch; Vicia cracca (common perennial climber of temperate regions of Eurasia and North America having dense elongate clusters of flowers)

bitter betch; Vicia orobus (European perennial toxic vetch)

spring vetch; Vicia sativa (herbaceous climbing plant valuable as fodder and for soil-building)

bush vetch; Vicia sepium (European purple-flowered with slender stems; occurs as a weed in hedges)

Holonyms ("vetch" is a member of...):

genus Vicia; Vicia (widely distributed genus of annual or perennial and often climbing herbs)

 Context examples 

The term is now applied in a general way to many other related plants such as soybeans, peas, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), vetches and lupins.

(Bean, NCI Thesaurus)