peanut

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpiːnʌt/; /ˈpiˌnʌt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is from English pea + nut.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fruit or seed of the plant Arachis hypogaea, or the plant itself: 1807 in the OED and Etymonline;^[4][2] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1802.^[3] Earlier names, still common in England, were ground nut and ground pea (1769).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The plant is native to South America;^[2] Portuguese traders took it from Brazil and Peru to Africa by 1502, and it was grown in China by 1573.^[2] Peanut gallery, the topmost and cheapest seats in a theatre, is American English from 1874, from the peanuts sold there as cheap snacks.^[2] The adjective, trivial or worthless, is from 1836;^[4] peanuts, a trivial sum, from 1934,^[2][4] and a peanut, an unimportant person, from 1942.^[2][4] Peanut butter is attested by 1892.^[2]

Timeline

• 1769 – ground nut, ground pea.^[2]
• 1807 – peanut.^[4][2]
• 1836 – peanut, trivial.^[4]
• 1874 – peanut gallery.^[2]
• 1892 – peanut butter.^[2]
• 1934 – peanuts, a small sum.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A leguminous plant of tropical America whose seed pods ripen underground.
2. The edible oily seed of this plant; a groundnut or monkey nut.
3. (informal, plural) A trivial sum of money.

Adjective

1. Of little or no importance.

Word family

• peanut brittle
• peanut butter
• peanut gallery
• peanut oil

Related words

• pea
• nut
• groundnut
• goober

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press