banana的词源

英文词源

banana

banana: [16] Banana comes from a West African language – possibly Wolof, a language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken in Senegal and the Gambia. The original European discoverers of the word – and the fruit – were the Spanish and Portuguese, who passed them on to England. The term bananas ‘mad’ is 20th-century, but its origins are obscure; some have compared banana oil, a 20th-century slang term for ‘mad talk, nonsense’.

banana (n.)

1590s, borrowed by Spanish or Portuguese from a West African word, possibly Wolof banana. The plant was introduced to the New World from Africa in 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 oil "nonsense" is slang from c. 1910.

中文词源

banana：香蕉

可能来自某非洲语。

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：banana 词源，banana 含义。

banana：香蕉

多数辞书认为，意为“香蕉”的banana 一词源于某一非洲语言，西班牙语和葡萄牙话首先使用，而后被吸收到英语中来。但有的辞书，如The Facts on File Enyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins却认为，它出自意为“手指”的阿拉伯语单词banana，而一串香蕉(a hand of bananas)也确实有点像一排张开的手指。

banana：香蕉

来源于非洲某方言。