banish

[ban-ish]

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verb (used with object)

to expel from or relegate to a country or place by authoritative decree; condemn to exile: He was banished to Devil's Island.

to compel to depart; send, drive, or put away: to banish sorrow.

Origin of banish

1275–1325; Middle English banisshen < Anglo-French, Old French baniss-, long stem of banir < Frankish *bannjan to proclaim, akin to ban¹

Related formsban·ish·er, nounban·ish·ment, nounnon·ban·ish·ment, nounpro·ban·ish·ment, adjectiveself-ban·ished, adjectiveself-ban·ish·ment, nounun·ban·ished, adjective

Synonyms for banish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR banish ON THESAURUS.COM

1. exile, expatriate, outlaw; deport.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for banishment

expulsion, deportation, expatriation, ouster, ostracism, dismissal, removal

Examples from the Web for banishment

Contemporary Examples of banishment

While quarantined, she was seemingly powerless to challenge her banishment to a tent in Newark.
Are Mandatory Ebola Quarantines Legal?
Tim Mak
October 28, 2014
Second offenses would be punished by banishment…that could be appealed after one year.
Was Firing Ray Rice The Right Move?
Caitlin Dickson
September 10, 2014
Hard to say if the banishment will make any impact on the outcome on the medal stand.
The Olympics Are Already Two Days Old. This Is Your Test.
Kevin Bleyer
February 9, 2014
“I truly thought my banishment would only last for a month or so,” she writes.
‘Banished’ Lauren Drain on Growing Up in the Westboro Baptist Church
David Sessions
March 5, 2013
Is the GOP becoming a smaller tent where dissent is grounds for banishment?
The GOP's Liability on the Fringe
Howard Kurtz
May 8, 2011

Historical Examples of banishment

Mademoiselle held the royal warrant of her father's banishment in her hand.
Bardelys the Magnificent
Rafael Sabatini
You must journey on to Pesaro with me despite this banishment of which you have told me.
The Shame of Motley
Raphael Sabatini
And they are compelled to walk to and from the place of banishment.
The Destroyer
Burton Egbert Stevenson
Her father was in banishment, the commutation of a sentence of death.
Luttrell Of Arran
Charles James Lever
Where and to what does Hemsworth's benevolence point, dishonour or banishment?
The O'Donoghue
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for banishment

banish

verb (tr)

to expel from a place, esp by an official decree as a punishment

to drive awayto banish gloom

Derived Formsbanishment, noun

Word Origin for banish

C14: from Old French banir, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German ban

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for banishment

c.1500, from banish + -ment.

banish

late 14c., banischen, from banniss-, extended stem of Old French banir "announce, proclaim; levy; forbid; banish, proclaim an outlaw," from a Germanic source (perhaps Frankish *bannjan "to order or prohibit under penalty"), or from Vulgar Latin cognate *bannire (see bandit). Related: Banished; banishing.