[ 'banɪən , -njən ]
(also banian )
■ noun
1》 (also ~ tree ) an Indian fig tree, whose branches produce wide-ranging aerial roots which later become accessory trunks. [ Ficus benghalensis .]
2》 a loose flannel undergarment worn in India.
Origin
C16: from Port., from Gujarati vāṇiyo 'man of the trading caste', from Sanskrit (orig. applied by Europeans to a tree under which traders had built a pagoda).