An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Bohne

by Friedrich Kluge

Bohne, feminine, ‘bean,’ from Middle High German bône, Old High German bôna, feminine; the corresponding Anglo-Saxon beán, English bean, Dutch boon, Old Icelandic baun, have the same meaning. The early existence of this word is attested by the name of the Frisian islands, Baunonia. It has not yet been possible to find a connecting link between the primitively Teutonic term and the equivalent Latin faba, Old Slovenian bobŭ (Greek φακός, ‘lentil’).