Banishen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic Middle English form meaning to force someone out of a land or place as a formal punishment
2. Old spelling of a verb meaning to drive a person away from a realm and forbid their return
3. A medieval verb for expelling a person from a country or territory by legal sentence

Etymology: Before it meant to drive someone out, the root of this verb meant to proclaim. Old French "banir" came from a Germanic base, "*bannjan," meaning to summon or proclaim, which is also the source of Old English "bannan" and of the noun "ban." The shift from proclamation to exile happened in law. A ruler's public decree could declare a person outside the protection of the community, so the act of announcing the decree came to mean the punishment itself. The Old French verb's stem "baniss-" gave English its form, and Middle English speakers used "banishen" for both formal expulsion and, less often, ordinary removal.