[con.tra.band] n [It contrabbando, fr. ML contrabannum, fr. contra- + bannus, bannum decree, of Gmc origin; akin to OHG bannan to command--more at ban] (ca. 1529) 1: illegal or prohibited traffic in goods: smuggling
2: goods or merchandise whose importation, exportation, or possession is forbidden; also: smuggled goods
3: a slave who during the Civil War escaped to or was brought within the Union lines -- contraband adj