v.
Pronunciation: ' ba-nish
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French baniss-, stem of banir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bannan to command ― more at BAN
Date: 14th century
1 : to require by authority to leave a country
2 : to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance
3 : to clear away : DISPEL <his discovery banish es anxiety ― Stringfellow Barr>
– ban · ish · er noun
– ban · ish · ment \ -nish-m ə nt \ noun
synonyms BANISH , EXILE , DEPORT , TRANSPORT mean to remove by authority from a state or country. BANISH implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own < banished for seditious activities>. EXILE may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country <a writer who exiled himself for political reasons>. DEPORT implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare <illegal aliens will be deported >. TRANSPORT implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony <a convict who was transported to Australia>.