Main Entry:

ban·ish

Pronunciation:

\ˈba-nish\

Function:

transitive verb

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French baniss-, stem of banir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bannan to command — more at ban

Date:

14th century

1 : to require by authority to leave a country 2 : to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance 3 : to clear away : dispel <his discovery banishes anxiety — Stringfellow Barr>

— ban·ish·er noun

— ban·ish·ment \-nish-mənt\ noun

synonyms banish, exile, deport, transport mean to remove by authority from a state or country. banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own <banished for seditious activities>. exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country <a writer who exiled himself for political reasons>. deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare <illegal aliens will be deported>. transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony <a convict who was transported to Australia>.