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Added 7 October 2026

ban

/ˈbæn/ noun

In Latin: veto, interdico Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ban at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A decree that prohibits something.
100 bani equal 1 leu in Moldova.
100 bani equal 1 leu in Romania.

verb

Forbid the public distribution of ( a movie or a newspaper).
Prohibit especially by legal means or social pressure.
Smoking is banned in this building
Ban from a place of residence, as for punishment.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English bannen (“to summon; to banish; to curse”), partly from Old English bannan (“to summon, command, proclaim, call out”), from Proto-West Germanic *bannan; and partly from Old Norse banna (“to prohibit; to curse”), both from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, to order; to summon; to ban; to curse, forbid”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂-new-ti ~ bʰh₂-n̥w-énti, innovative nasal-infixed zero-grade athematic present of *bʰeh₂- (“to say”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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