ban 1
— bannable , adj.
/ban/ , v. , banned, banning , n.
v.t.
1. to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict: to ban nuclear weapons; The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.
2. Archaic.
a. to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon.
b. to curse; execrate.
n.
3. the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.
4. informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion: society's ban on racial discrimination.
5. Law.
a. a proclamation.
b. a public condemnation.
6. Eccles. a formal condemnation; excommunication.
7. a malediction; curse.
[ bef. 1000; ME bannen, OE bannan to summon, proclaim; c. ON banna to curse (prob. influencing some senses of ME word), OHG bannan; akin to L fari to speak, Skt bhanati (he) speaks ]
Syn. 1. taboo, outlaw, proscribe. 3. prohibition, proscription, interdict. 3, 4 . taboo.
Ant. 1. allow.
ban 2
/ban/ , n.
1. a public proclamation or edict.
2. bans , Eccles. banns.
3. (in the feudal system)
a. the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.
b. the body of vassals summoned.
[ 1200-50; ME, aph. var. of iban, OE gebann proclamation, summons to arms (deriv. of bannan BAN 1 ), influenced in some senses by OF ban, from same Gmc base ]
ban 3
/ban, bahn/ , n.
1. (formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.
2. Hist. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.
[ 1605-15; bân, contracted from * bojan, * bajan, said to be bo ( e ) ános ban ]
ban 4
/bahn/ , n. , pl. bani /bah"nee/ .
a Rumanian coin, the 100th part of a leu.
[ 1960-65; bân BAN 3 ]