banana
Americannoun
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a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit.
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the fruit, especially that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind.
noun
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any of several tropical and subtropical herbaceous treelike plants of the musaceous genus Musa , esp M. sapientum , a widely cultivated species propagated from suckers and having hanging clusters of edible fruit
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the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plants Compare plantain 2
Etymology
Origin of banana
1590–1600; < Spanish < Portuguese (perhaps via Sp); akin to various words for banana or plantain in WAfr languages (e.g., Wolof, Malinke banana, Vai (Mande language of Liberia) bana ), but ultimate source and direction of borrowing uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Growing up, my mother would make a simple salad of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and lemons, drizzled with salt, served alongside homemade curries, spiced rice and steamed fish fillets wrapped in banana leaf parcels.
From Salon
Dickson could use his near-uncatchable spinning "banana kick" to give Seattle an edge Sunday by forcing the Patriots to begin drives deep in their own half.
From Barron's
"I want that," he would say, pointing at bananas.
From Literature
He directed their attention to a small round table that held two oranges, a banana, and a tall blue water jug.
From Literature
His full or partial exceptions have since included bananas, coffee, cocoa, jet engines and rare-earth minerals.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
