banyan

noun

ban·​yan ˈban-yən 

-ˌyan

plural banyans

: a large fig tree (Ficus benghalensis) native to India and Pakistan that starts as an epiphyte and has spreading branches which send out aerial roots that grow down to the ground and form secondary trunks around the host tree

The banyan kills the host tree by preventing its trunk from growing. After the host dies, the banyan continues to grow. Eventually, one tree appears to be an entire forest.

—National Geographic World

Illustration of banyan

Examples of banyan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other stops of the tour included work underway at a former outlet mall that had been a popular shopping destination for both tourists and locals, and a beloved, giant 151-year-old banyan tree, now drastically greener with new growth thanks to the preservation efforts of arborists. —Alena Botros, Fortune, 27 June 2024

Second-floor dormers were added to the pitched roof, which was changed from red tile to cedar shingle to blend with surrounding banyan and coconut palm trees. —Jennifer Ash Rudick, Architectural Digest, 25 June 2024

Today, the building is positioned between Lahaina’s harbor and the town’s banyan tree, planted in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first American Protestant mission to the island. —Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024

Efforts to revive the banyan and other important surviving trees have included trucking in water, applying compost extract and testing soil. —Ed Komenda and Audrey McAvoy, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2023

Word History

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

First Known Use

1638, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

banyan

noun

ban·​yan ˈban-yən 

: a large East Indian tree with branches that send out roots which grow downward into the ground and form new supporting trunks