ban

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bæn/ UK /ˈbæn/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like van /v/ vs /b/ Sounds like ben /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #8291

Meanings

1

verb
To officially forbid something, especially by law or rule.

The city has banned smoking in all public parks.
2

noun
An official order that forbids something.

There is a ban on using mobile phones during the exam.
3

verb
To stop someone from taking part in something or entering a place.

He was banned from the club for fighting.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to officially forbid... prohibit forbid

Word family

Forms bannedbanningbans

Derived forms antibanargatrobanban-houndban-the-bomberbannablebannerbanworthycentibanfissbanforbanghostbanhellban

Related forms banns

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

smoking ban
a rule prohibiting smoking in a particular place or setting

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Ban is a Germanic word that in Old English meant “to summon by popular proclamation.” It also passed into French, where it had the senses “proclamation,” “summons,” and “banishment.”

Etymology

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”). Cognate with Dutch bannen (“to ban, exile, discard”), German bannen (“to exile, to exorcise, captivate, excommunicate”), Swedish…

*bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European bannen Middle English bannan Old English *bannan Proto-West Germanic banna Old Norse *bannaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# ban

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /bæn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbæn/
**Frequency rank:** 8291

## Meanings
1. To officially forbid something, especially by law or rule.
2. An official order that forbids something.
3. To stop someone from taking part in something or entering a place.

## Examples
- The city has banned smoking in all public parks.
- There is a ban on using mobile phones during the exam.
- He was banned from the club for fighting.

## Derived Forms
- antiban
- argatroban
- ban-hound
- ban-the-bomber
- bannable
- banner
- banworthy
- centiban
- fissban
- forban
- ghostban
- hellban

## Related Forms
- banns

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeh₂-
- Root: bannen
- Root: bannan
- Root: *bannan
- Root: banna
- Root: *bannaną

## Etymology
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”). Cognate with Dutch bannen (“to ban, exile, discard”), German bannen (“to exile, to exorcise, captivate, excommunicate”), Swedish…

## AI Etymology
Ban is 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”).

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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ban