goober

US /ˈɡubɚ/ UK /ˈɡuːbə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a peanut; informally, a foolish or naive person

He cracked open a handful of goobers at the ballgame.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a peanut; informally, a... peanut groundnut fool simpleton dolt

Etymology

From a Bantu language, ultimately from Kongo or Kimbundu nguba ('peanut'), brought to the American South via the Atlantic slave trade.

nguba Kongo

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# goober

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡubɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡuːbə/

## Meanings
1. a peanut; informally, a foolish or naive person

## Examples
- He cracked open a handful of goobers at the ballgame.

## Synonyms
- peanut
- groundnut
- fool
- simpleton
- dolt

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nguba

## Etymology
From a Bantu language, ultimately from Kongo or Kimbundu nguba ('peanut'), brought to the American South via the Atlantic slave trade.

## AI Etymology
Goober comes from a Bantu language, ultimately from Kongo or Kimbundu nguba ('peanut'), brought to the American South via the Atlantic slave trade. The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a peanut; informally, a foolish or naive person", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The named historical forms include Kongo nguba, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes peanut, groundnut, fool, and simpleton, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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