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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> When playing Scrabble in Mexico when I was a kid I found that the other 
> kids did not know the word "haba" (which I only knew from a 
> dictionary).  Their big sister had to explain it to them.

While the word 'haba' isn't in common use, the word 'habena' (little bean) 
is.  The words 'haba' and 'habena' refer to all types of beans, not just 
favas.  
Many Latin words that begin with 'f' changed to 'h' in Spanish while 
remaining 'f' in the other Romance languages.

faba   =      fava        =        haba
facere =     facer       =        hacer
folia    =     foil          =        hoja
ferum  =     ferro       =         hiero

etc.

The word 'frijole' is from the genus name of new world beans 'phaseolus'   
which is derived from the Greek word 'phaselos' (chickpea).  It became 
'faseolus' in Latin, then 'fesol' in early Spanish.  'Fesol' became 'fresol' 
then 
'frijol'.

I would have thought that 'frijole' was just yet another Nahuatl word ending 
in 'tl' that the Spanish couldn't pronounce.   But such is not the case.
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