| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| ban1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  b n |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: banned, ban·ning, bans
1. To prohibit, especially by official decree. See synonyms at forbid. 2. South African Under the former system of apartheid, to deprive (a person suspected of illegal activity) of the right of free movement and association with others. 3. Archaic To curse. | | NOUN: | 1. An excommunication or condemnation by church officials. 2. A prohibition imposed by law or official decree. 3. Censure, condemnation, or disapproval expressed especially by public opinion. 4. A curse; an imprecation. 5. A summons to arms in feudal times. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English bannen, to summon, banish, curse, from Old English bannan, to summon, and from Old Norse banna, to prohibit, curse; see bh -2 in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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