Meaning

noun the edible white meat of a coconut; often shredded for use in e.g. cakes and curries

noun large hard-shelled oval nut with a fibrous husk containing thick white meat surrounding a central cavity filled (when fresh) with fluid or milk

noun tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropics

originFrom coco + nut. In reference to assimilated Hispanic or black people, derived from the fruit's exotic origins. The slur originates from the idea that one is "brown on the outside, white on the inside". In reference to Polynesians, from the ubiquity of coconut palms in the area.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0