banana

Meanings

Plural: bananas

Noun

any of several tropical and subtropical treelike herbs of the genus Musa having a terminal crown of large entire leaves and usually bearing hanging clusters of elongated fruits
elongated crescent-shaped yellow fruit with soft sweet flesh
An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
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.
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.
A yellow color, like that of a banana's skin.
A person of East or Southeast Asian descent, considered to be overly assimilated and subservient to white authority.
A person of Chinese descent who cannot speak Mandarin or any Chinese dialect
The penis.
A banana kick.
A banana equivalent dose.
A catamorphism (from the use of banana brackets in the notation).

Adj

Curved like a banana, especially of a ball in flight.

Origin / 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

banana tree, Twinkie

Scrabble Score: 8

banana is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
banana is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
banana is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

banana is a valid Words With Friends word