Entry · catalog no. 7021
goober
/ /ˈɡuːbər/ /GOO-bur
n. · American South (Gullah/African retention) · 1830s
✓ Verified
1.
A peanut. From the Kikongo and Kimbundu word nguba, carried to the Americas by enslaved Africans.
“Boiled goobers by the roadside, a dollar a bag.”
Origin & Attribution
From nguba, the word for peanut in Kikongo and Kimbundu, two Bantu languages of Congo and Angola. Enslaved Africans brought both the crop's culture and its name; "goober" is attested in American English by 1833 and spread from Black Southern speech into the wider region. Often taken for generic country slang, it is in fact a direct African retention.
1833
'Goober' attested in American English
1866
The folk song 'Goober Peas' fixes the word in print
present
Standard across the South; African root largely forgotten
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
American South (Gullah/African retention) · 1830s
Spoken by
Black South; from enslaved Africans
$GOOBERThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady33 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1833
in the culture
Mainstream crossover
1866
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
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Atlanta, GA
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Memphis, TN
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Citations & Sources
■
Etymology: Kikongo/Kimbundu nguba ('peanut') — VOA Learning English, 'Many Food Names in English Come From Africa'
2018
■
+ Cite a source'Goober Peas,' Civil War-era folk song
1866
See also