banana

‘Banana’ first found in Spanish and Portuguese, possibly from Mandingo or Wolof, languages of West Africa; first occurrence in English 1597.

See original Mihalic entry.

Noun forms

1. Food crops: banana (Musa sp.) ® kalapua
   kru bilong banana young banana shoot for planting
   rop banana a ‘hand’ of bananas
   banana mau soft eating banana variety

Noun combination forms

2. Kind of person: banana mau a European (from skin colour)

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