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Banana

[buh-nan-uh]

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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.

Origin:
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

Can be confused: banana, plantain¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Banana

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Banana is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Example Sentences

No need to undertake dangerous travel to see what banana republic-style inequality looks like.

Most of us have no idea what it costs to stand up for workplace democracy in this brave new banana republic.

The same goes for workers on the big banana plantations.

EXPAND

No need to undertake dangerous travel to see what banana republic-style inequality looks like.

Most of us have no idea what it costs to stand up for workplace democracy in this brave new banana republic.

The same goes for workers on the big banana plantations.

But a new study shows that banana peels can remove metal contamination from river water.

Banana trees have these tightly coiled leaves coming up, and then the banana flowers lean down over that.

Don't throw out those coffee grounds and banana peels– save landfill space and make your own rich potting soil using a composter.

Through it all, a banana watches, mocking everyone around it as complete fools.

The banana provided icy, sweet body, the yogurt creamy tartness and the milk enough liquidity to make the whole thing drinkable.

Even in a banana republic there are sufficient regulations to ensure that bank operation is safe.

Try the lamb steamed in banana leaves or fish with corn fungus.

He was especially slow about eating a piece of banana he would savor it for the longest time.

These are stuffed with mung beans and pork, and are often wrapped in banana leaves.

At top right are baskets with carrying straps, with banana leaves used as covers.

The banana may be the poor man's luxury, but that is no sufficient reason for objecting to the duty placed upon the fruit.

Firms are investigating plants such as bamboo, seaweed, nettles and banana stalks as raw materials for textiles.

For example, the banana slug is thought to favor mushrooms.

For example, the sequentially ripening banana bunch.

No whoopee cushions going off midseminar, no banana cream pies sailing through the hallways.

Only an occasional banana grove or superannuated rubber plantation offers a spot of variety.

Serve hot with a banana flower slice and a wedge of lime on the side, raw chives, and bean sprouts on top.

So forget the chips-a banana is a safer snack for your health.

Tom is clearly not a man one should accept banana and ice cream slushies from.

Few have ever seen a traffic jam, or tasted a banana.

I've been curious about banana paper, a sustainable product made from banana plant fiber and reused paper products.

The banana is naturally short and fat and filled with visible seeds.

Hermaphroditic banana slugs sometimes chew off their own penises.

Since then, however, the country has come to resemble an old-fashioned banana republic.

Palmettos and banana trees tropicalize interior courtyard.

If evolution is true, then you must claim common ancestry with the banana and fruit fly as well.

Good tow car, great looking, soft banana yellow with tan hide uph.

Serve with white rice, manioc flour and carrots slices toasted in butter, and fried breaded banana.

Vendors shaved sticks with hacksaws and wrapped the shavings in paper or banana leaves to sell.

And when it rained, he simply tore off a few large banana leaves to cover his head.

Banana peels prove they're more than slapstick comedy props, capable of filtering water and glowing blue.

For mother's day, a banana cake with chocolate chips and roasted walnuts.

Temperature changes can either delay or hasten the ripening of bananasThe banana is.

Later, some even charge into the foaming ocean to pluck a lucky banana from the waves.

But thats fine because you get to have your banana and you dont need to know how it got there.

There are dynamite packs attached to the side of the unit and a banana in a box, ready for a quick snack.

It was: the chocolate banana pudding beat all my grandmotherly versions by a landslide.

They do not, because they know that direct political interference in the rule of law is for tyrranies and banana republics.

Aged tequilas and cochinita pibil, achiote-marinated pork cooked in banana leaves.

The island is incredibly green and banana and papaya trees dot the roadside.

Just hire someone to dress up as a banana to stand among them and you are good to go.

And in captivity, they can figure out how to position several boxes so they can retrieve a banana hanging from a rope.

Calm your radiation paranoia with xkcd's radiation dose chart and the banana equivalent dose.

Banana brain said: i would read this book sounds really funny and original.

Put a banana peel inside a mayonnaise jar to attract the roaches, and coat the inside walls of the jar with petroleum jelly.

Try panikeki, a deep-fried pancake made with banana or pineapple.

The river is virtually empty, save for the occasional dugout canoe or banana boat.

Discarded banana peels evidence his growing sophistication.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

banana (bəˈnɑːnə)

—n
1.	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
2.	Compare plantain the crescent-shaped fruit of any of these plants

[C16: from Spanish or Portuguese, of African origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

banana

1590s, borrowed by Sp. or Port. from a W. African word, possibly Wolof banana. The plant introduced to the New World from Africa, 1516. Top banana, second banana, etc. are 1950s, from show business slang use of banana for "comedian, especially in a burlesque show." Banana split first attested 1920. Banana

EXPAND

oil "nonsense" is slang from c.1910.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

banana definition

n.
an American of East Asian descent who acts too much like a Caucasian. (The person is yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Patterned on oreo. See also apple. Rude and derogatory.) : Stop acting like such a banana!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

BANANA
build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

banana

In addition to the idiom beginning with banana, also see drive someone crazy (bananas); go bananas; top banana.

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Banana

ba·nan·a

banana definition