Bann
/bæn/noun
An archaic or dialectal form of ban, meaning a public proclamation, command, or prohibition.
Did you know?The modern word “banns,” as in marriage banns, preserves the old sense of a public proclamation made aloud before a community.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*bannaną
“to proclaim, command, or summon publicly”
Old English
Old English
bannan
“to summon, proclaim, or command”
Old English
Old English
bann
“a proclamation, command, or prohibition”
11th–12th Century
Old French
ban
“a public proclamation, especially a summons or command issued by authority”
12th–14th Century
Middle English
ban / bann
“a proclamation, official command, or act of forbidding”
Modern English
English
bann
“an archaic or dialectal variant of ban; preserved especially in historical and Scots usage”
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