English Explanatory Dictionary

banana

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
  2. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
  3. The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas, a plant of the genus Musa (but sometimes also including plants from Ensete), which has large, elongated leaves.
  4. A yellow color, like that of a banana's skin.
  5. A person of East or Southeast Asian descent, considered to be overly assimilated and subservient to white authority.
  6. A person of Chinese descent who cannot speak Mandarin or any Chinese dialect
  7. The penis.
  8. A banana kick.
  9. A banana equivalent dose.
  10. A catamorphism (from the use of banana brackets in the notation).
  11. An incorrectly held handstand, often seen in beginners.
adj
  1. Curved like a banana, especially of a ball in flight.
noun
  1. One who objects to the building of any structure in their neighbourhood or a certain type of structure anywhere, especially in public policy debate.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A village on Kiritimati, Kiribati.

Pronunciation

/bəˈnɑː.nə/ en-uk-banana.ogg /bəˈnæ.nə/ en-us-banana.ogg /bəˈna.na/ [bɐ.näː.näˑ] bə-näʹnə /bəˈnɑːnə/ bə-năʹnə /bəˈnænə/

Word forms

banana bananas

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese banana or Spanish banana, derived from a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Guinea region. Specific derivation is unclear. Possible ancestor or cognate languages include Wolof banaana, Eastern Maninkakan banana, and Vai ꕒꘌꕯ (ɓaana) or ꕒꕌꕯ (ɓaana), possibly from Arabic بَنَان (banān, “fingertip, banana”). However, Ay Baati Wolof (Munro & Gaye, 1997) posits that Wolof banaana is itself derived from Portuguese banana. The racial slur derives from the notion that they are “Yellow (East-Asian) on the outside, but White (Westernized) on the inside”.

Synonyms

Twinkie NIMBY

Related words

bananas abaca coconut dining leaf matoke oreo plantain sinamay waragi LULU

Derived words

Abyssinian banana apple banana banana bag banana ball banana belt banana-bender banana bender banana bird banana boa banana boat banana bond banana box banana bread banana bus banana cake banana chair banana clip banana connector banana cue banana-ey banana fly banana fold banana freckle banana frog Bananagate bananageddon banana hammock bananahood banana ketchup banana knife Bananaland banana leaf bananaless bananalike banana-like banana lounge banana lounger banana melon banana money banana-nose banana nose banana note banana oil banana orbit Banana Pancake Circuit Banana Pancake Trail banana paper banana passionfruit banana peel banana pepper banana-phile bananaphile bananaphobia banana phone banana plug banana pose banana prawn banana pudding bananaquit banana republic

Translations

Abau: yoh Abkhaz: абанан Afrikaans: piesang Afrikaans: piesangboom Ahom: 𑜀𑜤𑜐𑜫 Akan: akwaadu Albanian: banane Amharic: ሙዝ Amis: pawli Angal Enen: ai Arabic: مَوْزَة Arabic: مَوْز Arabic: موزة Arabic: موز Arabic: بنان Arabic: بنانة Argobba: ሙዝ Armenian: բանան Armenian: ադամաթուզ Asi: batag Assamese: কল Asturian: plátanu Asturian: bananu Asturian: banana Atayal: buqoh Atayal: guquh Aymara: puquta Azerbaijani: banan Balinese: biu Basay: puti Basque: platano Basque: albo Basque: bananondo Belarusian: бана́н Bengali: কলা Bengali: রম্ভা Bengali: কদল Bhojpuri: केला Buhi'non Bikol: batag Central Bikol: batag Central Bikol: kahoy nin batag East Miraya Bikol: batag Libon Bikol: batag Northern Catanduanes Bikol: saging Rinconada Bikol: batag Southern Catanduanes Bikol: batag West Miraya Bikol: batag Binukid: saging Bolinao: batag Bouyei: joicdiangz Bulgarian: бана́н Bulgarian: бана́ново дърво́ Bunun: bunbun Burmese: ငှက်ပျောသီး Burmese: ငှက်ပျော Carpathian Rusyn: бана́н Catalan: banana Catalan: plàtan Catalan: bananer Catalan: plataner
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