Etymology Map
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Goober

3 stages from Kikongo to English.

Today it means An informal American English term, especially in the South, for a peanut.

Where does the word "goober" come from? It comes from Kikongo nguba, passing through Gullah before entering English (1833).

1
Stage 1 of 3
nguba
Kikongo · long-standing
"peanut"
a Kikongo word for the groundnut, common across west-central Africa
2
Stage 2 of 3
guber
Gullah · 1700s
"peanut"
brought to the American South by enslaved Kikongo speakers
3
Stage 3 of 3
goober
English · 1833
"a peanut, especially in the American South"
phonetically adapted by white Southerners into everyday American English
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