Banal
/bəˈnɑːl/noun
Lacking originality; ordinary and predictable.
Did you know?Banal comes from a medieval French term for things under a lord’s public authority, not from “ban” as in prohibition, and its modern meaning was shaped much later in French before entering English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bha-
“to speak, proclaim”
Old High German
OHG
ban
“an order, proclamation, or summons”
Medieval Latin
Latin
bannum
“a lord’s command or jurisdiction”
Old French
Old French
banal
“pertaining to the lord’s rights or obligations, especially public mills, ovens, and presses”
18th–19th Century
French
banal
“common, trite, overused”
Modern English
English
banal
“lacking originality; ordinary and predictable”