You may have heard the term “banana” but never wondered what it means in Spanish. The fruit is a popular treat in the United States, and the term is used interchangeably in many Spanish-speaking countries. In DR, however, the word for banana is called guineo. In DR, the word is used to refer to the entire crop of bananas. In other countries, the word is used to refer to the plant or the fruit.
Bananas are native to West Africa, but they were brought to the island during the 16th and 17th centuries by Arab merchants. The word ‘banana’ is derived from the Arabic word for ‘finger’. The Portuguese were the first to bring bananas from Africa to the Caribbean and Latin America, which happened at the same time as the slave trade. In both countries, bananas are a common food, and are also known as a fig.
Bananas are native to the Caribbean and are not found in tropical areas. In the DR, the fruit is called a guineo. In Venezuela, the fruit is called a cambur. In the DR, the name of the fruit is Platano. In Cuba, the banana is called a guineo. Depending on where the banana is grown, it can be referred to as a guava, a plantain, or an orange.
Bananas are not native to Africa. They arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries as slaves, who called their native land Guinee. The word ‘banana’ does not survive in Haiti. Its Haitian equivalent, figue, is figue. In the 16th century, the Portuguese called them garden figs or Indian figs. Finally, the African-born population introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and Latin America through the slave trade.
The word banana is not a native to the Caribbean. It was introduced to the region by Europeans in the 16th century. They came from South-East Asia by Arab traders. ‘Banana’ means ‘finger’ in the DR. Similarly, the DR’s banana is called ‘Platano’ in Spanish. Hence, the ‘banana’ word in the Dominican Republic comes from Arabic, which means finger.
The word banana is not native to Africa. In the 16th century, Portuguese merchants brought it to the Caribbean. ‘Banana’ was an Arabic word for ‘finger.’ In the 16th century, the fruit was known as plantain. Later, the Portuguese brought it to Latin America via the slave trade. They were already named ‘Plantain’ in the Caribbean and ‘Cambur’ in English.
The word banana originates from the Arabic word ‘bana’ and was originally a fruit found in Africa. Its name was subsequently changed to ‘bana’ by the Europeans. The word ‘banana’ has no direct relation to the fruit’s color. In Latin America, it is known as the ‘banana’. Its Spanish name is ‘plantain’.
Several Latin American countries have their own names for bananas. DR and the DR have their own names for bananas. The Portuguese, however, called the fruit guineos. Likewise, DR have separate words for banana. The DR have their own varieties of the fruit. If you want to learn Spanish, you should look up the local word for plantain.
In DR and Venezuela, the word for banana is ‘cambur’. Similarly, the DR uses ‘plantain’. Its ‘banana’ name is ‘guineo’. In Haiti, the word for banana is ‘figue’. Until the 16th century, the Portuguese called bananas ‘Indian figs’ or ‘garden figs. In DR, the fruit is referred to as ‘plain banan’.
The name banana means “butterfly”. Its Latin counterpart is ‘cesta’ and consists of a bunch of bananas. Both fruits are in the cesta. There is no difference between the two terms. But they do share the same roots: ‘cesta’ is used to mean ‘bunch’ and ‘basket’, respectively. In both cases, the word “banana” has the same meaning as ‘cerro’ in Spanish.
