banyan
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banyan¹
- /ˈbæn.jæn/ UK, US
- /ˈbæn.jən/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ænjən
Where it comes from
From Portuguese baniano, from Arabic بَنِيَان (baniyān), from Gujarati વાણિયો (vāṇiyo, “merchant”), from Sanskrit वाणिज (vāṇijá), from earlier वणिज् (vaṇíj, “merchant, trader”). The name appears to have been first bestowed popularly on a famous tree of this species growing near Bandar Abbas, under which the Bannians, or Hindu traders settled at that port, had built a little pagoda. Doublet of bunnia.
noun banyans · banian · bannian
- An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
-
A tropical Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, that has many aerial roots.
When doubling a point, which was covered with a heavy growth of the banian mangrove, which extended into deep water, we discovered a party of Kubu Orangs fishing from off a pack of drift that had lodged against the inward trend of the northern shore.
Similar: banyan tree
- Various other trees of the Ficus subgenus Urostigma, especially Ficus pertusa (Central American banyan) and Ficus microcarpa (Chinese banyan or Malayan banyan).
- A type of loose gown worn in India.
- A vest; an undershirt; a singlet. It was an honest letter, written by an honest man, then stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers.
- A camping excursion on shore, to give a ship's crew a break from shipboard routine.
Banyan²
proper noun
- A locality in the Shire of Buloke, north western Victoria, Australia
Translations
Every language
noun Indian trader, merchant
| 中文 | 印度商人 Yìndù shāngrén |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | baniani |
| Português | baniano, baniane |
| Français | commerçant indien, banian |
Talk about this word "banyan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/banyan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. banyan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/banyan "banyan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/banyan.Cite this
@misc{banyan_2026,
title = {banyan},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/banyan},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
