The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:
Nick Maclaren wrote:

it's faba not faber (feminine, meaning broad bean, not masculine,
meaning workman).

Interesting, my old Sutton's (1960?) is wrong, then.

Faba (n) bean
Faber (n) a worker (In the army, fabri - the engineers)
Faber -bra -brum (adj) ingenious, skilful

Cassell's Compact Latin Dictionary.

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