bania

American  

[ban-yuh] / ˈbæn yə /

Also baniya

noun

1. variant of banyan.

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Etymology

Origin of bania

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

The two — both from the bania, or “trader” caste — married in 1969, a rare love marriage at a time when arranged unions were far more commonplace.

From Washington Post • Jun. 22, 2015

The bania climbed upon Ganpati’s stomach and ate as many mangoes as he could.

From Deccan Nursery Tales or, Fairy Tales from the South by Kincaid, C. A. (Charles Augustus)

In it there lived a bania who had no son.

From Deccan Nursery Tales or, Fairy Tales from the South by Kincaid, C. A. (Charles Augustus)

The bania was frightened out of his wits and galloped home with his one mango.

From Deccan Nursery Tales or, Fairy Tales from the South by Kincaid, C. A. (Charles Augustus)

But the bania said, “I dare not marry him unless he first makes a pilgrimage to Benares.”

From Deccan Nursery Tales or, Fairy Tales from the South by Kincaid, C. A. (Charles Augustus)