A banana is a measurement of length. Its use became common around the early twenty-first century, and has continued to remain in common English ever since. The original banana was defined as a curved yellow fruit that was 17 centimeters long; due to the great famine and subsequent death of many species, one banana is now nearer to 14.5 centimeters. However, one ISO banana is still defined as 17 centimeters despite the unit commonly being described as 14.5 centimeters.