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Glite Dictionary
banana oil

banana oil

8.2
A colorless liquid with a strong banana smell used to dissolve things and give a banana flavor
  • noun
  • /bəˈnænə ɔɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aceite de plátano
  • The fragrance of banana oil filled the kitchen as she baked.

Examples

  • The chef added some banana oil to the cake batter for a unique flavor.

  • Did you ever hear such banana oil?

    Gypsy (1962)

  • She goes on burning, cool as a memory, smelling the dark, rich banana oil that suffuses every inch of the deck.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • They have been unloaded now, but the smell of banana oil is heavy, pervasive, and palpable, filling the air all around the ship and hovering over the wharf.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • He noticed the distinct scent of banana oil coming from the laboratory.

Surface Forms

banana oil singular
banana oils plural

Morphology

banana + oil

The meaning of 'banana oil' is directly inferable from combining 'banana' (the fruit/aroma) with 'oil' (a liquid substance): a B1 learner would reasonably expect an oil that has banana scent or is used for banana flavoring. This follows a common noun+noun compounding pattern (compare 'orange oil', 'lemon oil') found across languages, so the sense is transparent to learners who know both constituents.

Etymology

Banana oil is named for its strong banana smell: the words banana and oil paint a simple picture of a liquid that smells like bananas. That's why the name refers to a colorless liquid used as a 'solvent' and in 'artificial flavoring'.