1807, earlier ground nut, ground pea (1769). The plant is native to S.America. Portuguese traders took peanuts from Brazil and Peru to Africa by 1502 and it is known to have been cultivated in Chekiang Province in China by 1573, probably arriving with Port. sailors who made stops in Brazil en route to the Orient. Peanut butter is first attested 1903. Peanut gallery "topmost rows of a theater" is from 1888; peanuts "trivial sum" is from 1934.