banish

C2 Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˈbænɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like vanish /v/ vs /b/

verb Freq #15721

Meanings

1

verb
To send someone away from a place, especially as an official punishment, and forbid them to return.

He was banished from the kingdom for his crimes.
2

verb
To force a thought or feeling out of your mind.

She tried to banish her fear before walking on stage.
3

verb
To exclude someone from a group or community.

Their family banished them for marrying outside the faith.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to send someone away from a... expel bar

3 verb · to exclude someone from a... ban blackball

Word family

Forms banishedbanishesbanishing

Derived forms banishablebanisheebanisherrebanishunbanish

Related forms banishment

Etymology

From Middle English banishen, from Old French baniss-, extended stem of banir (“to proclaim, ban, banish”), of Germanic origin and Old English bannan, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“curse, forbid”). Compare French bannir. Doublet of ban.

*bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European banishen Middle English baniss- Old French bannan Old English *bannaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Verbs of Movement Word Formation & Derivatives

# banish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈbænɪʃ
**Frequency rank:** 15721

## Meanings
1. To send someone away from a place, especially as an official punishment, and forbid them to return.
2. To force a thought or feeling out of your mind.
3. To exclude someone from a group or community.

## Examples
- He was banished from the kingdom for his crimes.
- She tried to banish her fear before walking on stage.
- Their family banished them for marrying outside the faith.

## Derived Forms
- banishable
- banishee
- banisher
- rebanish
- unbanish

## Related Forms
- banishment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeh₂-
- Root: banishen
- Root: baniss-
- Root: bannan
- Root: *bannaną

## Etymology
From Middle English banishen, from Old French baniss-, extended stem of banir (“to proclaim, ban, banish”), of Germanic origin and Old English bannan, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“curse, forbid”). Compare French bannir. Doublet of ban.

## AI Etymology
Banish is from Middle English banishen, from Old French baniss-, extended stem of banir (“to proclaim, ban, banish”), of Germanic origin and Old English bannan, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“curse, forbid”). Compare French bannir. Doublet of ban. Important recorded forms include *bʰeh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), banishen (Middle English), baniss- (Old French), bannan (Old English), and *bannaną (Proto-Germanic). Current senses include to send someone away from a place, especially as an official punishment, and forbid them to return, to force a thought or feeling out of your mind, and to exclude someone from a group or community. The wider family includes derived forms such as banishable, banishee, banisher, rebanish, and unbanish and related words such as banishment.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Verbs of Movement
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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banish

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