The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the family arecaceae  (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus cocos. The term coconutcan refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut.

The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word. The term is derived from 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish coco, meaning "head" or "skull", from the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.