From West African (probably Wolof 'banaana'), possibly from Arabic 'banān' (fingers) — a word that retraced the fruit's own global journey.
A long curved fruit with soft pulpy flesh and yellow skin when ripe, growing in clusters on a tropical plant.
From Spanish or Portuguese 'banana,' probably from a West African language — most likely Wolof 'banaana' or a Mande language. The banana plant originated in Southeast Asia and was brought to West Africa by Arab and Portuguese traders well before the European age of exploration. The West African name then traveled to the Americas with the slave trade and colonial commerce, entering European languages via Spanish and Portuguese. The word
The banana's etymology traces a remarkable trade route. The plant originated in Southeast Asia, was carried to Africa by Arab traders (possibly giving it the Arabic name 'banān,' meaning 'fingers'), acquired a West African name (Wolof 'banaana'), then crossed the Atlantic to the Americas with the Portuguese — so the word traveled from Asia to Africa to Europe to the Americas, mirroring the fruit's own journey.