The English sense of pulse, i.e. ‘the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for food (peas, beans, lentils etc.)’ is attested from 1297, and according to the OED (Third edition, 2007) has the same etymology as ‘broth, gruel’. This sense is also present in medieval Latin (pulsa, from 1319), but appears to be absent from Anglo-Norman.

The DMF includes the entry pous, defined as ‘Débris de graines’ or ‘chaff’, from the etymon pulvis 9,569a, which may provide an alternative (but less likely) interpretation of the Westm citation, if the sheep were fed chaff from oats and vetch rather than a boiled mixture of them.

The earlier citation from Rec Méd (s.xiii²) used in the AND¹ entry pus¹ (glossed as ‘thick paste’) has been removed, as this text was found not to be Anglo-Norman.