Banana (1325-1354)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Sorry.  It's:

_colocasia_
1829 Lee tr. _Ibn Batuta's Trav._ 170 ...

   Yes, OED is a dictionary of the English language, but help people out a little!  People understand what loanwords are all about.  They can read brackets.  OED's "third world" first entry, for example, is in French.
   Ibn Battuta's 1300s "banana" is especially significant for the etymology of the fruit name.  See also Battuta in OED's etymology (click "etymology") for "benzoin."
   Battuta's definitely been under-cited.