fava bean

[Italian fava, from Latin faba, broad bean.]

[FAH-vuh] This tan, rather flat bean resembles a very large lima bean. It comes in a large pod that, unless very young, is inedible. Fava beans can be purchased dried, cooked in cans and, infrequently, fresh. If you find fresh fava beans, choose those with pods that aren't bulging with beans, which indicates age. Fava beans have a very tough skin, which should be removed by blanching before cooking. Habas are dried favas with the skins removed. They're very popular in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes, can be cooked in a variety of ways and are often used in soups. Also called faba bean, broad bean and horse bean. See also beans.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: seed of the broad-bean plant
  Synonyms: broad bean, horsebean

Meaning #2: shell beans cooked as limas
  Synonym: broad bean