goober

goober
goo·ber (go͞o’bər)
n. Chiefly Southern US
1. See PEANUT(Cf. ↑peanut).
2. A yokel; a bumpkin.
3. A foolish or silly person.
4. A gob of phlegm.
╂ [Of Bantu origin; akin to Kongo or Kimbundu n-guba.]
Word History: Most Southerners recognize the terms goober and goober pea as other names for the peanut. Goober originates among the Bantu languages and is akin to the word meaning "peanut" in the Kongo and Kimbundu languages, n-guba. This regionalism is one of a small stock of words that entered American English from the languages spoken by the Africans who were enslaved and brought to the Americas during the 1600s and 1700s. Many of these words of African origin have to do with foods. Gumbo, for example, is also of Bantu origin—it is related to such words as Tshiluba ki-ngumbo, "okra." (In some regional varieties of English in the South, gumbo can still mean simply "okra" in addition to "thick okra stew.") Yam originates among the languages of West Africa, and it may be akin to Wolof ñam, meaning "food" and "to eat" or to Bambara ñambu, "manioc." The English word cooter probably comes from the Mande languages—the Bambara and Malinke word for a turtle, for example, is kuta. Cooter is still used in South Carolina, Georgia, and the Gulf states to denote the edible freshwater turtle of the genus Chrysemys and, by extension, other turtles and tortoises.

Word Histories. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Goober — may refer to:* The peanut, Arachis hypogaea . * Goober (brand), a food product consisting of alternating stripes of peanut butter and fruit preserves combined in a single jar and sold in North America by The J.M. Smucker Co. * Goober Peas , a… …   Wikipedia

  • Goober — Goo ber, n. A peanut. [Southern U. S.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goober — peanut, 1833, Amer.Eng., of African origin, perhaps Bantu (Cf. Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba peanut ) …   Etymology dictionary

  • goober — ☆ goober [go͞o′bər ] n. [< Kongo nguba] Chiefly South a peanut …   English World dictionary

  • goober — a goober is someone who looks/ is a bit silly, not as harsh as stupid or dumb My father in lay looked like a bit of a goober at the wedding …   Dictionary of american slang

  • goober — a goober is someone who looks/ is a bit silly, not as harsh as stupid or dumb My father in lay looked like a bit of a goober at the wedding …   Dictionary of american slang

  • goober — Peanut Pea nut, n. (Bot.) The fruit of a trailing leguminous plant ({Arachis hypog[ae]a}); also, the plant itself, which is widely cultivated for its fruit. [1913 Webster] Note: The fruit is a hard pod, usually containing two or three seeds,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goober — /gooh beuhr/, n. South Midland and Southern U.S. the peanut. Also called goober pea. [1825 35; of Afr orig.; cf. Kimbundu nguba peanut] * * * …   Universalium

  • goober — noun /ˈɡuːbɚ/ a) (Southern US) A peanut. b) A foolish or simple person. Syn: goober pea …   Wiktionary

  • goober — Synonyms and related words: Brazil nut, almond, almond paste, amande, amande douce, amandes mondees, bitter almond, blanched almonds, burnt almond, goober pea, ground pea, groundnut, kernel, meat, nigger toe, noisette, noix, nut, peanut, peanut… …   Moby Thesaurus

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