ban1

[ban] /bæn/
verb (used with object), banned, banning.
1.
to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict:
to ban nuclear weapons; The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.
2.
Archaic.
  1. to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon.
  2. to curse; execrate.
noun
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.
  1. a proclamation.
  2. a public condemnation.
6.
Ecclesiastical. a formal condemnation; excommunication.
7.
a malediction; curse.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English bannen, Old English bannan to summon, proclaim; cognate with Old Norse banna to curse (probably influencing some senses of ME word), Old High German bannan; akin to Latin fārī to speak, Sanskrit bhanati (he) speaks
Related forms
bannable, adjective
unbanned, adjective
Can be confused
band, banned.
Synonyms
1. taboo, outlaw, proscribe. 3. prohibition, proscription, interdict. 3, 4. taboo.
Antonyms
1. allow.

ban2

[ban] /bæn/
noun
1.
a public proclamation or edict.
2.
bans, Ecclesiastical, banns.
3.
  1. the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.
  2. the body of vassals summoned.
Origin
1200-50; Middle English, aphetic variant of iban, Old English gebann proclamation, summons to arms (derivative of bannan ban1), influenced in some senses by Old French ban, from same Germanic base

ban3

[ban, bahn] /bæn, bɑn/
noun
1.
(formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.
2.
History/Historical. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.
Origin
1605-15; < Serbo-Croatian bân, contracted from *bojan, *bajan, said to be < a Turkic personal name, perhaps introduced into the Balkans by the Avars; compare Medieval Greek bo(e)ános ban

ban4

[bahn] /bɑn/
noun, plural bani
[bah-nee] /ˈbɑ ni/ (Show IPA)
1.
a Romanian coin, the 100th part of a leu.
Origin
1960-65; < Romanian, of uncertain origin, perhaps < Serbo-Croatian bân ban3
Examples from the web for ban
  • Even when a ban coincides with a fall in consumption, as with ivory, demand-and thus poaching-has a habit of coming back.
  • Unfortunately, the ban failed, and fishing will continue.
  • Students will investigate the controversial issues surrounding the use of a chemical called atrazine and calls for its ban.
  • ban trawling now, and eventually phase out hunting fish altogether, it's evolution.
  • Suburbanites tired of the screech of leaf blowers have long pressed their communities to ban or restrict use of the tools.
  • We must work to ban the sales of leather and hides, too.
  • Now the national park management is planning to ban climbers.
  • If the ban stays in place, millions of followers of the participating golfers will feel the pinch of social media silence.
  • The ban was repealed after complaints over the law's severity.
  • Wildlife preserves traditionally ban human residents.
British Dictionary definitions for ban

ban1

/bæn/
verb bans, banning, banned
1.
(transitive) to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid: to ban a book, to ban smoking
2.
(transitive) (formerly in South Africa) to place (a person suspected of illegal political activity) under a government order restricting his movement and his contact with other people
3.
(archaic) to curse
noun
4.
an official prohibition or interdiction
5.
(law) an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition
6.
a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry
7.
(archaic) public censure or condemnation
8.
(archaic) a curse; imprecation
Word Origin
Old English bannan to proclaim; compare Old Norse banna to forbid, Old High German bannan to command

ban2

/bæn/
noun
1.
(in feudal England) the summoning of vassals to perform their military obligations
Word Origin
C13: from Old French ban, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German ban command, Old Norse bannban1

ban3

/bæn/
noun (pl) bani (ˈbɑːnɪ)
1.
a monetary unit of Romania and Moldova worth one hundredth of a leu
Word Origin
from Romanian, from Serbo-Croat bān lord
Word Origin and History for ban
v.

Old English bannan "to summon, command, proclaim," from Proto-Germanic *bannan "proclaim, command, forbid" (cf. Old High German bannan "to command or forbid under threat of punishment," German bannen "banish, expel, curse"), originally "to speak publicly," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak" (cf. Old Irish bann "law," Armenian ban "word;" see fame (n.)).

Main modern sense of "to prohibit" (late 14c.) is from Old Norse cognate banna "to curse, prohibit," and probably in part from Old French ban, which meant "outlawry, banishment," among other things (see banal) and was a borrowing from Germanic. The sense evolution in Germanic was from "speak" to "proclaim a threat" to (in Norse, German, etc.) "curse."

The Germanic root, borrowed in Latin and French, has been productive, e.g. banish, bandit, contraband, etc. Related: Banned; banning. Banned in Boston dates from 1920s, in allusion to the excessive zeal and power of that city's Watch and Ward Society.

n.

"edict of prohibition," c.1300, "proclamation or edict of an overlord," from Old English (ge)bann "proclamation, summons, command" and Old French ban, both from Germanic; see ban (v.).

"governor of Croatia," from Serbo-Croatian ban "lord, master, ruler," from Persian ban "prince, lord, chief, governor," related to Sanskrit pati "guards, protects." Hence banat "district governed by a ban," with Latinate suffix -atus. The Persian word got into Slavic perhaps via the Avars.

Encyclopedia Article for ban

former Hungarian title denoting a governor of a military district (banat) and later designating a local representative of the Hungarian king in outlying possessions, e.g., Bosnia and Croatia. Originally a Persian word, ban was introduced into Europe by the Avars. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, divided into banovine, or provinces, revived the title and office of ban in October 1929 and used it until the German-Italian invasion of April 1941.

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