lima
lima Lexical Profile
lima Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The capital and largest city of Peru, located in the central coastal part of the country overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
North American A large, flat, pale green or white edible seed of the lima bean plant (Phaseolus lunatus).
"She added a handful of limas and sweet corn to the skillet to prepare a traditional succotash."
The code word representing the letter L in the NATO phonetic alphabet, used in radio and telephonic communication.
"The air traffic controller instructed the pilot of aircraft Sierra Lima Bravo to hold position on the runway."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the Peruvian capital, it is capitalized as 'Lima', whereas the edible seed (often called a 'lima bean') is typically written in lowercase.
• Rhymes for lima
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the city of Lima, Peru, which comes from the Quechua word 'Limaq', an adaptation of 'Rímac' (the name of the local river, meaning 'talker' or 'speaker'). The bean was named because early export shipments from Peru were stamped with 'Lima' as the point of origin.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.