bane

[beyn]

noun

1. a person or thing that ruins or spoils.

   Gambling was the bane of his existence.

2. a deadly poison (often used in combination, as in the names of poisonous plants).

   wolfsbane;

   henbane.

3. death; destruction; ruin.

4. Obsolete.,  that which causes death or destroys life.

   entrapped and drowned beneath the watery bane.

bane

¹

/ beɪn /

noun

1. a person or thing that causes misery or distress (esp in the phrase bane of one's life )

2. something that causes death or destruction

3. 1. a fatal poison

   2. ( in combination )

      ratsbane

4. archaic,  ruin or distress

bane

²

/ beɪn, ben /

noun

1. a Scot word for bone

Word History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bana “slayer”; cognate with Old Norse bani “death, murderer,” Old Frisian bona “murder,” Old Saxon bano “murderer,” Old High German bano “slayer,” bana “death”; akin to Armenian ǰnǰel “to destroy,” Greek theínein “to strike,” Latin -fendere “to strike,” Persian zahr “poison,” Polish gonić “to pursue,” Sanskrit hánti “to strike”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

Old English bana ; related to Old Norse bani death, Old High German bano destruction, death

Example Sentences

But Qatar has also been a bane of American conservatives because of its history in hosting Hamas’s political leadership and its support for other Islamist groups.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Critics fear that Shein -- whose meteoric rise has been a bane for traditional retail fashion companies -- will further hurt stores in France that have had to lay off staff or close.

Read more on Barron's

But with the improvement of cross-strait relations and economic links, many on Kinmen view their proximity to China as a boon, not a bane.

Read more on BBC

Money was always the bane of our relationship.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One tune is a surprising almost-love-letter to a fixture that’s the bane of many Golden State warriors’ existence — and satirized aptly on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch “The Californians”: The 405 Freeway.

Read more on Los Angeles Times