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banana

[ buh-nan-uh ]
/ bəˈnæn ə /
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See synonyms for: banana / bananas on Thesaurus.com

noun
a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit.Compare banana family.
the fruit, especially that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind.
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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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH banana

banana , plantain1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use banana in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for banana

banana
/ (bəˈnɑːnə) /

noun
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
the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plantsCompare plantain 2

Word Origin for banana

C16: from Spanish or Portuguese, of African origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with banana

banana

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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