[bane] n [ME, fr. OE bana; akin to OHG bano death] (bef. 12c) 1 a obs: killer, slayer b: poison c: death, destruction "stop the way of those that seek my ~ --Philip Sidney" d: woe
2: a source of harm or ruin: curse "national frontiers have been more of a ~ than a boon for mankind --D. C. Thomson"
[2]bane vt baned ; ban.ing (1578) obs: to kill esp. with poison [3]bane n [ME (northern dial.) ban, fr. OE ban] (bef. 12c) chiefly Scot: bone