goober
A peanut, Southern style.
Also called goober pea, peanut.
Updated September 21, 2026
goober pronunciation
/GOO-ber/
Meaning
The country name for a peanut. Boiled goobers at a ballgame. Goober peas in an old camp song. Folks still say it with a grin, and sometimes stretch it to call a silly person a goober too. The peanut sense is the root one.
How folks use it
- “Pass me a handful of them boiled goobers.”
- “Granddaddy still calls peanuts goober peas.”
Origin and etymology
From Bantu languages of Central Africa, especially Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba for peanut. Enslaved Africans brought the word into Southern American English in the 1600s and 1700s. Print shows gouber by the 1830s. Same African food-word path as gumbo and yam.
Frequently asked questions
Is a goober only a peanut?
That is the main Southern meaning. People also tease somebody as a goober when they act silly.