coconut English · revision 15345

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1516}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkoʊ.kəˌnʌt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|coco|nut]], also spelled cocoanut,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) coco being [[bor|pt|côco|t=grinning skull, goblin; coconut]],^(AHD 2000)^(LDOCE 2009) probably from [[la-lat|coccum|t=shell]],^(AHD 2000) because the three spots on the base of the nut look like a face.^(LDOCE 2009)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fruit of the coconut palm: the 1610s in Etymonline, the early 17th century in the Shorter Oxford;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1516.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dried, shredded flesh used in cooking and confectionery is by 1830,^(Etymonline) and coconut oil is from 1829.^(Etymonline) The head is slang from 1834.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) In American slang a coconut is also a Mexican American thought to reject his heritage, brown on the outside and white inside.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1516 – coconut (Merriam-Webster).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1610s – coconut (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1829 – coconut oil.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1834 – the head (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The large hard-shelled seed of the [[coconut palm]], with edible white flesh around a hollow filled with [[coconut milk|alt=milky fluid]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The edible white flesh of this seed, often shredded.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The coconut palm itself.^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coconut milk]]

+ * [[coconut oil]]

+ * [[coconut butter]]

+ * [[double coconut]]

+ * [[coconut cream]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coco]]

+ * [[cocoa]]

+ * [[cocoon]]

+ * [[copra]]

+ * [[coir]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}