From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
banana
n 1: any of several tropical and subtropical treelike herbs of
the genus Musa having a terminal crown of large entire
leaves and usually bearing hanging clusters of elongated
fruits [syn: banana tree]
2: elongated crescent-shaped yellow fruit with soft sweet flesh
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Banana \Ba*na"na\ (b[.a]*n[aum]"n[.a]; 277), n. [Sp. banana,
name of the fruit.] (Bot.)
A perennial herbaceous plant of almost treelike size ({Musa
sapientum}); also, its edible fruit. See Musa.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The banana has a soft, herbaceous stalk, with leaves of
great length and breadth. The flowers grow in bunches,
covered with a sheath of a green or purple color; the
fruit is five or six inches long, and over an inch in
diameter; the pulp is soft, and of a luscious taste,
and is eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is a
native of tropical countries, and furnishes an
important article of food.
[1913 Webster]
Banana bird (Zool.), a small American bird ({Icterus
leucopteryx}), which feeds on the banana.
Banana quit (Zool.), a small bird of tropical America, of
the genus Certhiola, allied to the creepers.
[1913 Webster]