Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Navy \Na"vy\; n.; pl. {Navies}. [ OF. navie, fr. L. navis ship.
   See {Nave} of a church.]
   1. A fleet of ships; an assemblage of merchantmen, or so many
      as sail in company. ``The navy also of Hiram, that brought
      gold from Ophir.'' --1 kings x. 11.

   2. The whole of the war vessels belonging to a nation or
      ruler, considered collectively; as, the navy of Italy.

   3. The officers and men attached to the war vessels of a
      nation; as, he belongs to the navy.

   {Navy bean}. see {Bean}.

   {Navy yard}, a place set apart as a shore station for the use
      of the navy. It often contains all the mechanical and
      other appliences for building and equipping war vessels
      and training their crews.

Bean \Bean\ (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D.
   boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw.
   b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]
   1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous
      herbs, chiefly of the genera {Faba}, {Phaseolus}, and
      {Dolichos}; also, to the herbs.

   Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still
         doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and
         China bean, included in {Dolichos Sinensis}; black
         Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, {D. Lablab}; the common
         haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole
         beans, all included in {Phaseolus vulgaris}; the lower
         bush bean, {Ph. vulgaris}, variety {nanus}; Lima bean,
         {Ph. lunatus}; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, {Ph.
         maltiflorus}; Windsor bean, the common bean of England,
         {Faba vulgaris}. As an article of food beans are
         classed with vegetables.

   2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more
      or less resembling true beans.

   {Bean aphis} (Zo["o]l.), a plant louse ({Aphis fab[ae]})
      which infests the bean plant.

   {Bean fly} (Zo["o]l.), a fly found on bean flowers.

   {Bean goose} (Zo["o]l.), a species of goose ({Anser
      segetum}).

   {Bean weevil} (Zo["o]l.), a small weevil that in the larval
      state destroys beans. The American species in {Bruchus
      fab[ae]}.

   {Florida bean} (Bot.), the seed of {Mucuna urens}, a West
      Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida
      shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments.

   {Ignatius bean}, or {St. Ignatius's bean} (Bot.), a species
      of {Strychnos}.

   {Navy bean}, the common dried white bean of commerce;
      probably so called because an important article of food in
      the navy.

   {Pea bean}, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the
      edible white bean; -- so called from its size.

   {Sacred bean}. See under {Sacred}.

   {Screw bean}. See under {Screw}.

   {Sea bean}.
      (a) Same as {Florida bean}.
      (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament.

   {Tonquin bean}, or {Tonka bean}, the fragrant seed of
      {Dipteryx odorata}, a leguminous tree.

   {Vanilla bean}. See under {Vanilla}.

Source : WordNet®

navy bean
     n : white-seeded bean; usually dried [syn: {pea bean}, {white
         bean}]