[3] The word "lens" for the lentil is of classical Roman or Latin origin, possibly from a prominent Roman family named Lentulus, just as the family name "Cicero" was derived from the chickpea, Cicer arietinum, and "Fabia" (as in Quintus Fabius Maximus) from the fava bean (Vicia faba).

[5] The plant is a diploid, annual, bushy herb of erect, semierect, or spreading and compact growth and normally varies from 30 to 50 centimetres (12 to 20 in) in height.

The several cultivated varieties of lentil differ in size, hairiness, and colour of the leaves, flowers, and seeds.

Seed coats can range from light green to deep purple, as well as being tan, grey, brown, black or mottled.

Shelled lentils show the colour of the cotyledon which can be yellow, orange, red, or green.

Canada produced the largest share, 2.2 million tonnes, or roughly 34% of the world's total output (table),[9] nearly all (95%) of it in Saskatchewan.

orientalis, although other species may also have contributed some genes, according to Jonathan Sauer (Historical Geography of Crop Plants, 2017).

[12] Unlike their wild ancestors, domesticated lentil crops have indehiscent pods and non-dormant seeds.

[12] Lentil was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East and then spread to Europe and North Africa and the Indo-Gangetic plain.

[3] Lentils improve the physical properties of soils and increase the yield of succeeding cereal crops.

[14] The lentil requires a firm, smooth seedbed with most of the previous crop residues incorporated.

For the seed placement and for later harvesting it is important that the surface is not uneven with large clods, stones, or protruding crop residue.

In agriculturally mechanized countries, lentils are planted using grain drills, but many other areas still hand broadcast.

[3] In intercropping systems – a practice commonly used in lentil cultivation – herbicides may be needed to assure crop health.

[citation needed] Lentils grow well under low fertilizer input conditions, although phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, and sulfur may be used for nutrient-poor soils.

A combination of gravity, screens and air flow is used to clean and sort lentils by shape and density.

A major part of the world's red lentil production undergoes a secondary processing step.

Lentils can be eaten soaked, germinated, fried, baked or boiled – the most common preparation method.

The composition of lentils leads to a high emulsifying capacity which can be even increased by dough fermentation in bread making.

In the Indian subcontinent, Fiji, Mauritius, Singapore and the Caribbean, lentil curry is part of the everyday diet, eaten with both rice and roti.

In Iran, rice and lentil is served with fried raisin; this dish is called adas polo.

Lentils are used to prepare an inexpensive and nutritious soup throughout Europe and North and South America, sometimes combined with chicken or pork.

Yellow lentils are used to make a non-spicy stew, which is one of the first solid foods Ethiopians feed their babies.

Since the inception of The International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) breeding programme in 1977 significant gains have been made.

[2] The focus lies on high yielding and stable cultivars for diverse environments to match the demand of a growing population.

[27] In particular, progress in quantity and quality as well as in the resistance to disease and abiotic stresses are the major breeding aims.

The wild species possess many diverse traits including disease resistances and abiotic stress tolerances.