peanut English · revision 15263

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1802}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpiːnʌt/; /ˈpiˌnʌt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|pea|nut]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fruit or seed of the plant ''Arachis hypogaea'', or the plant itself: 1807 in the OED and Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1802.^(MWU 2024) Earlier names, still common in England, were ''ground nut'' and ''ground pea'' (1769).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The plant is native to South America;^(Etymonline) Portuguese traders took it from Brazil and Peru to Africa by 1502, and it was grown in China by 1573.^(Etymonline) Peanut gallery, the topmost and cheapest seats in a theatre, is American English from 1874, from the peanuts sold there as cheap snacks.^(Etymonline) The adjective, trivial or worthless, is from 1836;^(OED 1989) peanuts, a trivial sum, from 1934,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a peanut, an unimportant person, from 1942.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Peanut butter is attested by 1892.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1769 – ground nut, ground pea.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1807 – peanut.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – peanut, trivial.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1874 – peanut gallery.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1892 – peanut butter.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – peanuts, a small sum.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[legume|alt=leguminous]] plant of tropical America whose seed pods ripen underground.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The edible oily seed of this plant; a [[groundnut]] or [[monkey nut]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal, plural)'' A trivial sum of money.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of little or no importance.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[peanut brittle]]

+ * [[peanut butter]]

+ * [[peanut gallery]]

+ * [[peanut oil]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pea]]

+ * [[nut]]

+ * [[groundnut]]

+ * [[goober]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}