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- 7 dictionary resultsba⋅nan⋅as
[buh-nan-uh
z] 
–adjective Slang.
| 1. | crazy; deranged: All that chatter is driving me bananas. |
| 2. | wildly enthusiastic: The crowd went bananas when the music began. |
ba⋅nan⋅a
[buh-nan-uh] –noun
| 1. | a tropical plant of the genus Musa, certain species of which are cultivated for their nutritious fruit. Compare banana family. |
| 2. | the fruit, esp. that of M. paradisiaca, with yellow or reddish rind. |
Origin:
1590–1600; < Sp < Pg (perh. 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 uncert.
1590–1600; < Sp < Pg (perh. 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 uncert.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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|
Link To bananas
| ba·nan·a (bə-nān'ə) n.
[Portuguese and Spanish, from Wolof, Mandingo, and Fulani.] |
| ba·nan·as (bə-nān'əz) adj. Slang Crazy: "That's the horrible thing when you're bananas—nobody can know the awful things that are going on in your head" (Otto Friedrich). "City dwellers . . . are subjected to so much noise it drives them bananas" (New Yorker). [From banana, worthless or crazy person, from banana.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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bananas
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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banana
1597, borrowed by Sp. or Port. from a W. African word, possibly Wolof banana. The plant introduced to the New World from Africa, 1516. Banana republic is from 1935. Bananas in the slang sense of "nuts" is first recorded 1935. 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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