1. soya(n = noun.plant) glycine max, soja, soja bean, soy, soya bean, soybean, soybean plant - erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to Asia;
is a kind of legume, leguminous plant
has parts: soy, soya, soya bean, soybean, soy, soya bean, soybean
is a member of genus glycine, glycine
2. soya(n = noun.food) soy, soya bean, soybean - the most highly proteinaceous vegetable known; the fruit of the soybean plant is used in a variety of foods and as fodder (especially as a replacement for animal protein);
is a kind of bean, edible bean
is a part of glycine max, soja, soja bean, soy, soya, soya bean, soybean, soybean plant
has particulars: field soybean
1. A Chinese and Japanese liquid sauce for fish, etc., made by subjecting boiled beans (esp. soybeans), or beans and meal, to long fermentation and then long digestion in salt and water. [1913 Webster]
2. The soybean. [1913 Webster]
soya, n. (in full soya bean)
1 a a leguminous plant, Glycine soja, orig. of SE Asia, cultivated for the edible oil and flour it yields, and used as a replacement for animal protein in certain foods. b the seed of this.
2 (also soya sauce) = SOY 1.
Etymology:
Du. soja f. Malay soi (as SOY)