banns

or bans

[banz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR banns ON THESAURUS.COM

noun (used with a plural verb) Ecclesiastical.

notice of an intended marriage, given three times in the parish church of each of the betrothed.

any public announcement of a proposed marriage, either verbal or written and made in a church or by church officials.

Origin of banns

1540–50; variant of bans, plural of ban²

Can be confusedbanns bans

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

Related Words for banns

nuptials, matrimony, betrothal, marriage, bridal, troth, banns, nuptial, spousal

Examples from the Web for banns

Contemporary Examples of banns

A source close to Zuckerberg has said the timing of the banns was purely coincidental, since the IPO date was a “moving target.”
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s Wedding Calculus
Rebecca Dana
May 21, 2012

Historical Examples of banns

She must have been having you on, for the banns was up at St. George's this three weeks!
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
The banns have not been duly published, neither is there any priest here to marry them.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
Hadn't you better fix the wedding-day and take out the banns, now that your hand is in?
The Manxman
Hall Caine
I'll put the banns up to-morrow—no; I'll get a special license.
Nell, of Shorne Mills
Charles Garvice
But the stars and the Gypsy brethren forbid the banns, so they part eternally.
Lavengro
George Borrow

British Dictionary definitions for banns

banns

bans

pl n

the public declaration of an intended marriage, usually formally announced on three successive Sundays in the parish churches of both the betrothed

forbid the banns to raise an objection to a marriage announced in this way

Word Origin for banns

C14: plural of bann proclamation; see ban 1

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 banns

see bann.