Favism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genetic condition affecting red blood cells, triggered by consumption of fava beans or exposure to certain substances, leading to their breakdown and anemia
2. An inherited metabolic disorder in which individuals lack an enzyme that protects blood cells, causing hemolysis when fava beans are eaten
3. A hereditary deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase that results in the destruction of red blood cells upon ingestion of fava beans or related triggers

Etymology: Favism is a hemolytic reaction to the fava bean, and its name is a plain, transparent formation. It joins "fava", the Italian and Portuguese name for the broad bean, with the suffix "-ism", which in medical usage marks a condition or disorder. The result names the illness after the food that triggers it. The surprising part is the bean's own name. "Fava" comes from the Latin "faba", and the same root gave English the word "bean" through Germanic channels, so the two words are distant cousins that took different routes into the language. Many people who have never heard of favism know the bean it is named for well, since broad beans have been eaten across the Mediterranean for thousands of years.

Synonyms: G6PD deficiency