ban

¹

[ ban ]

verb (used with object)

, banned, ban·ning.

1. to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict:

   to ban nuclear weapons;

   The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.

   Synonyms: taboo, proscribe, outlaw

   Antonyms: allow

2. Archaic.
   1. to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon.
   2. to curse; execrate.

noun

1. the act of prohibiting by law; interdiction.

   Synonyms: taboo, interdict, proscription, prohibition

2. informal denunciation or prohibition, as by public opinion:

   society's ban on racial discrimination.

   Synonyms: taboo

3. Law.
   1. a proclamation.
   2. a public condemnation.
4. Ecclesiastical. a formal condemnation; excommunication.
5. a malediction; curse.

ban

²

[ ban ]

noun

1. a public proclamation or edict.
2. bans, Ecclesiastical. banns.
3. (in the feudal system)
   1. the summoning of the sovereign's vassals for military service.
   2. the body of vassals summoned.

ban

³

[ ban, bahn ]

noun

1. (formerly) the governor of Croatia and Slavonia.
2. History/Historical. a provincial governor of the southern marches of Hungary.

ban

⁴

[ bahn ]

noun

, plural ba·ni [bah, -nee].

1. a Romanian coin, one 100th of a leu.

ban

¹

/ bæn /

noun

1. (in feudal England) the summoning of vassals to perform their military obligations

ban

²

/ bæn /

noun

1. a monetary unit of Romania and Moldova worth one hundredth of a leu

ban

³

/ bæn /

verb

1. tr to prohibit, esp officially, from action, display, entrance, sale, etc; forbid

   to ban smoking

   to ban a book

2. tr (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

1. an official prohibition or interdiction
2. law an official proclamation or public notice, esp of prohibition
3. a public proclamation or edict, esp of outlawry
4. archaic.
   public censure or condemnation
5. archaic.
   a curse; imprecation

Other Words From

• banna·ble adjective
• un·banned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ban¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bannen, Old English bannan “to summon, proclaim”; cognate with Old Norse banna to curse (probably influencing some senses of Middle English word), Old High German bannan; akin to Latin fārī “to speak,” Sanskrit bhanati “(he) speaks”

Origin of ban²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, ban, ban(n)e, iban “a lord's proclamation or edict or summons,” Old English (ge)ban(n) “proclamation, ordinance, summons to arms” (derivative of bannan ); influenced in some senses by Old French ban (Anglicized as ban ), from the same Germanic source; ban ¹

Origin of ban³

First recorded in 1605–15; from Serbo-Croatian bân, contracted from unattested bojan, bajan, said to be from a Turkic personal name, perhaps introduced into the Balkans by the Avars; compare Medieval Greek bo(e)ános “governor”

Origin of ban⁴

First recorded in 1960–65; from Romanian, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Serbo-Croatian bân “provincial governor”; ban ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of ban¹

C13: from Old French ban , of Germanic origin; related to Old High German ban command, Old Norse bann ban ¹

Origin of ban²

from Romanian, from Serbo-Croat bān lord

Origin of ban³

Old English bannan to proclaim; compare Old Norse banna to forbid, Old High German bannan to command

Example Sentences

Director Mohammad Rasoulof is banned at home in Iran but continues to make prize-winning work, including his latest thriller, ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig.’

From Los Angeles Times

Since 2010, he’s been convicted several times, banned from making films and has spent multiple stints behind bars.

From Los Angeles Times

In Texas, doctors who violate the state’s strict abortion ban face up to 99 years in prison.

From Salon

Bhattacharya recently joined the board of Biosafety Now, a group of scientists and others who have pushed for banning U.S. funding for so-called gain-of-function research, which could make risky pathogens more dangerous to people.

From Science Magazine

US weapons scanning company Evolv Technology will be banned from making unsupported claims about its products in a proposed settlement with the US government.

From BBC

Related Words

• boycott
• censorship
• embargo
• injunction
• prohibition
• refusal
• restriction