coconut

American  

[koh-kuh-nuht, -nuht] / ˈkoʊ kəˌnʌt, -nət /

Sometimes cocoanut

noun

1. the large, hard-shelled seed of the coconut palm, lined with a white edible meat, and containing a milky liquid.

2. the meat of the coconut, often shredded and used in cooking, as a flavoring, and as a dessert topping.

3. coconut palm.

4. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a person of color, especially a person of Latin American or South Asian origin or descent, who is regarded as having adopted the attitudes, values, and behavior thought to be characteristic of middle-class white society, at the expense of their ethnic heritage.

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coconut British  

/ ˈkəʊkəˌnʌt /

noun

1. the fruit of the coconut palm, consisting of a thick fibrous oval husk inside which is a thin hard shell enclosing edible white meat. The hollow centre is filled with a milky fluid ( coconut milk )

2. 1. the meat of the coconut, often shredded and used in cakes, curries, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      coconut cake

3. slang a black or Asian person who conforms to white culture at the expense of his or her ancestral culture, the idea being that, like a coconut, he or she is dark on the outside and white on the inside

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Etymology

Origin of coconut

First recorded in 1605–15; coco + nut

Example Sentences

After being controlled by the French, who brought in slaves from Madagascar and elsewhere to work coconut plantations, it was taken over by the British after the Napoleonic wars.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sun, sand, and coconuts probably sound good to many winter-weary Americans right now.

From Barron's

I return them to the pot with a glug of coconut milk.

From Salon

So she threw four ripe coconuts thump! into the sand and climbed down after them.

From Literature

Vegans and vegetarians have popularized plant-based milk alternatives — almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, cashew, hemp, coconut; if it grows, it may have a milk version.

From Los Angeles Times

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