proscribe
[proh-skrahyb]
- to denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.
- to put outside the protection of the law; outlaw.
- to banish or exile.
- to announce the name of (a person) as condemned to death and subject to confiscation of property.
Origin of proscribe
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. censure, disapprove, repudiate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for proscribe
Historical Examples
Proscribe French, their mother tongue, and they will hate you and have nothing to do with your schools.
BilingualismN. A. Belcourt
proscribe
- to condemn or prohibit
- to outlaw; banish; exile
- (in ancient Rome) to outlaw (a citizen) by posting his name in public
Word Origin
C16: from Latin prōscrībere to put up a written public notice, from prō- in public + scrībere to write
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for proscribe
v.
early 15c., "write before, prefix," from Latin proscribere "publish in writing" (literally "write in front of"), including senses of "publish as having forfeited one's property, condemn, outlaw before the world," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + scribere "to write" (see script (n.)). Meaning "prohibit as wrong or dangerous" first recorded 1620s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper