Main Entry:

ban·yan

Pronunciation:

\ˈban-yən, -yan\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

earlier banyan Gujarati trader, from Portuguese banean, probably from Tamil vāniyan trader, from Sanskrit vāṇija; from a tree of the species in Iran under which such traders conducted business

Date:

1634

: an East Indian fig tree (Ficus benghalensis) of the mulberry family with branches that send out roots which grow down to the soil and form secondary trunks

[banyan illustration]