Etymograph

English

ban

Ban comes from Old English bannan ‘to summon, proclaim’, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-new-ti ~ bʰh₂-n̥w-éntireconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bannaną‘to proclaim’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bannan‘to proclaim’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bannan‘to summon, command, proclaim’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bannen‘to summon’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1555ban

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-new-ti ~ bʰh₂-n̥w-éntireconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bannaną‘to proclaim’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bannan‘to proclaim’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bannan‘to summon, command, proclaim’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bannen‘to summon’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1555ban

Earliest quotation: c. 1555, Hugh Latimer: “They will curse and ban[…]even into the deep pit…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to say’

phone, focus, professor, famous, fuel, ben, phase, favor, favourite, fate, fame, photographer, fantasy, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, fancy, confession, confess, symphony, beacon, beck, infant, phantom, boon, eff, fab, fay, prophetic, fable, foyer, abandonment, buoy, nefarious, profess, bene, 127 more

through Proto-Germanic *bannaną ‘to proclaim, to order’

abandon, banish, 2 more

Another origin of ban

  1. Serbo-Croatianmodernbânuncertain
  2. Romanianc. 1500–presentban‘money’
  3. Englishtodayban

Borrowed from Romanian ban of uncertain origin, perhaps from Serbo-Croatian bân.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Today it means

verb To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / ban

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