Banana
/bəˈnæn.ə/noun
A long curved tropical fruit with soft sweet flesh and a yellow peel when ripe.
Did you know?Banana entered English through Spanish or Portuguese, but its deeper history is debated; many scholars trace it to a West African word, showing how trade carried not just goods, but names.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Portuguese/Spanish
banana
“The tropical fruit name enters European languages through contact with Africa and the Atlantic world”
16th Century
Arabic
banān
“Finger; a proposed source in older etymological speculation, likely by resemblance rather than true origin”
Pre-16th Century
West African languages
*banana / similar forms
“A likely source word for the fruit in the languages of the Guinea region, though the exact origin is uncertain”
Modern English
English
banana
“The common English word for the fruit”