# banal
## English
### Alternative forms

* (uncommon) bannal

### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal (“held in common, relating to feudal service, by extension commonplace”), from Old French banel, related to Medieval Latin bannālis (“subject to feudal authority”), from Latin bannus (“jurisdiction”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to order, summon, forbid”). Equivalent to ban +‎ -al. See also ban, abandon.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bəˈnɑːl/, /ˈbeɪnəl/, /bəˈnæl/
* Audio (UK):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɑːl, -eɪnəl, -æl

### Adjective

banal (comparative more banal or banaler, superlative most banal or banalest)
* Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
    Synonyms: everyday, prosaic, mundane; see also Thesaurus:hackneyed, Thesaurus:boring
    Antonyms: new, original
** 2013, John Carney, Begin Again (motion picture), spoken by Dan (Mark Ruffalo):One of the most banal scenes is suddenly invested with so much meaning! All these banalities - They're suddenly turned into these… these beautiful, effervescent pearls. From Music.
* (uncommon, historical) Relating to a type of feudal jurisdiction or service.
** 1926, Thomas Guérin, Feudal Canada: The Story of the Seigniories of New France, page 72:They arrived in 1732, and were distributed gratis to the more important banal mills.
** 1984, C. Warren Hollister, “War and Diplomacy in the Anglo-Norman world: the reign of Henry I”, in Anglo-Norman Studies VI: Proceedings of the Battle Conference, 1983, page 79:French historians have viewed these policies as efforts to replace the banal authority inherited from the Carolingians […]
** 2002, Wim Blockmans, Peter Hoppenbrouwers, Introduction to Medieval Europe 300–1500, page 138:To what extent were banal lords accountable to a prince or a king for their unrestricted exercise of public authority?

#### Derived terms

* banalise
* banality
* banalize
* banally
* banalness

#### Further reading

* “banal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “banal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* Alban, Balan, Blaan, Laban, Nabal, alban, laban, labna, nabal, nabla

## Bikol Central
### Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *bənər, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bənər. Compare Kapampangan banal, Masbatenyo banal, and Tagalog banal.

### Pronunciation

* Hyphenation: ba‧nal
* IPA: /baˈnal/ [baˈn̪al̪]

### Adjective

banál
* pious; devout

#### Derived terms

* kabanalan
* magbanal
* pabanal

## Breton
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Noun

banal m
* bramble
* broom (a plant, sp. Genista)

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [bəˈnal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [baˈnal]

### Adjective

banal m or f (masculine and feminine plural banals)
* banal (common in a boring way)

#### Derived terms

* banalitat
* banalitzar
* banalment

### Further reading

* “banal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “banal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “banal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “banal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## French
### Etymology

From ban +‎ -al, related to Medieval Latin bannālis, from bannus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ba.nal/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophones: banale, banals, banales

### Adjective

banal (feminine banale, masculine plural banals or banaux, feminine plural banales)
* (historical) owned by feudal lords
* (law) public, shared
    Synonym: communal
    un four banal ― a village oven
    un moulin banal ― a village mill
    un pressoir banal ― a village press
* banal, trite, commonplace

#### Usage notes

* The masculine plural banaux is used for the feudal and legal senses, while the form banals is used for the far more common sense of "trite."

#### Derived terms

* banaliser
* banalité

#### Descendants

* → Belarusian: бана́льны (banálʹny)
* → Catalan: banal
* → Dutch: banaal
** → Indonesian: banal
** → Malay: banal
* → English: banal
* → German: banal
* → Polish: banalny
* → Portuguese: banal
* → Romanian: banal
* → Russian: бана́льный (banálʹnyj)
** → Georgian: ბანალური (banaluri)
* → Spanish: banal
* → Turkish: banal
* → Ukrainian: бана́льний (banálʹnyj)
* → Macedonian: банално (banalno)

### Further reading

* “banal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* Alban

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal, from Medieval Latin bannalis, from bannum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baˈnaːl/
* Rhymes: -aːl
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

banal (strong nominative masculine singular banaler, comparative banaler, superlative am banalsten)
* banal

#### Related terms

* banalisieren
* Banalität

### Further reading

* “banal” in Duden online
* “banal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Malay banal, from Dutch banaal, from French banal, from Medieval Latin bannalis, from bannum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbanal]
* Hyphenation: ba‧nal

### Adjective

banal
* banal (common)
    Synonym: biasa
* rude
    Synonym: kasar

### Further reading

* “banal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Kapampangan
### Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *bənər, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bənər. Compare Bikol Central banal, Masbatenyo banal, and Tagalog banal.

### Adjective

banál
* holy; sacred

#### Derived terms

* magpakabanal

## Luxembourgish
### Adjective

banal (masculine banalen, neuter banaalt, comparative méi banal, superlative am banaalsten)
* banal

#### Declension
## Malay
### Etymology

From Dutch banaal, from French banal, from Medieval Latin bannalis, from bannum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /banal/
* Rhymes: -anal, -nal, -al

### Adjective

banal (Jawi spelling بانل)
* banal (common)
    Synonym: basi

### Further reading

* “banal” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

## Masbatenyo
### Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *bənər, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bənər.

### Adjective

banál
* holy; divine

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /baˈnaw/ [baˈnaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /bɐˈnal/ [bɐˈnaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /bɐˈnal/ [bɐˈnaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /bɐˈna.li/
* Rhymes: -al, -aw
* Hyphenation: ba‧nal

### Adjective

banal m or f (plural banais)
* banal (common)
* hackneyed (repeated too often)
    Synonyms: batido, trivial

#### Derived terms

* banalidade
* banalizar
* banalmente

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal.

### Adjective

banal m or n (feminine singular banală, masculine plural banali, feminine and neuter plural banale)
* commonplace

#### Related terms

* banalitate

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal, from Medieval Latin bannālis, from bannum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baˈnal/ [baˈnal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: ba‧nal

### Adjective

banal m or f (masculine and feminine plural banales)
* banal

#### Derived terms

* banalidad
* banalizar

### Further reading

* “banal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal. First attested in 1845.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baˈnɑːl/
* Rhymes: -ɑːl

### Adjective

banal (comparative banalare, superlative banalast)
* banal
** 2023 June 21, Hedda Berglund, “Larmet från vårdcentralerna: Yngre söker vård i onödan [The alarm from the health centers: Younger people seek care unnecessarily]”, in SVT Nyheter‎:Myggbett. Insektsbett. Skoskav. Feber sen igår. Täppt i näsan. Ont i ögonen eftersom man har gråtit mycket. En ögonfrans har trillat av. […] Hosta i tre timmar. Håravfall efter att man färgat håret flera gånger. Sjukskrivning för att en lösnagel hade ramlat av. […] Det är några exempel på det som vi kallar banala hälsotillstånd.Mosquito bite. Insect bite. Shoe chafing. Fever since yesterday. Blocked nose. Eyes hurting because one have cried a lot. An eyelash has fallen off. […] Cough for three hours. Hair loss after dyeing one's hair several times. Sick leave because a false nail had fallen off. […] These are some examples of what we call banal health conditions.
** trite
*** 1982, Ratata (lyrics and music), “Jackie”, in Jackie‎:Jackie, jag tror att du förstår. Den där tiden satte spår. Det kanske låter banalt, men jag saknar dig så.Jackie, I think you understand. That time left its mark. It might sound trite, but I miss you so.

#### Declension

$^1$ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. $^2$ Dated or archaic. $^3$ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

#### Synonyms

* alldaglig (“everyday, quotidian”)
* ointressant (“uninteresting”)

#### Coordinate terms

* platt (“flat”)
* sliten (“worn, worn out”)
* uttjatad

#### Related terms

* banalitet

### References

* ↑ banal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* banal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* banal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

## Tagalog
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Malay benar, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bənər (“true, righteous, honest”). Compare Bikol Central banal, Kapampangan banal, Masbatenyo banal, and Tausug bunnal.

#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /baˈnal/ [bɐˈn̪al]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: ba‧nal

#### Adjective

banál (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜈᜎ᜔)
* holy; sacred; blessed
    Synonyms: sagrado, santo, bendito, benditado
* virtuous; righteous
* pious; devout

##### Derived terms

* Araw ng mga Banal
* Banal na Espiritu
* Banal na Mag-anak
* Banal na Misa
* Banal na Pamilya
* Banal na Rosaryo
* Banal na Sakramento
* Banal na Santo Rosaryo
* Banal na Tridwo ng Paskuwa
* banalin
* kabanalan
* mabanal
* mabanalin
* magbanal
* magbanal-banalan
* magmabanal
* magpabanal
* magpakabanal
* mapagbanal-banalan
* pagbabanal
* pagbabanal-banalan
* pagpapabanal
* pagpapakabanal
* pakabanalin
* pambanal
* Simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga Banal sa mga Huling Araw

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈbanal/ [ˈbaː.n̪ɐl]
* Rhymes: -anal
* Syllabification: ba‧nal

#### Noun

banal (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜈᜎ᜔) (obsolete)
* discomfort in one's bones (of the hands or feet)
    Synonyms: pilay, sala, lisya

##### Derived terms

* banalin
* kabanalan
* mabanal
* pagkabanal

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈbanal/ [ˈbaː.n̪ɐl]
* Rhymes: -anal
* Syllabification: ba‧nal

#### Noun

banal (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜈᜎ᜔) (obsolete)
* weight of five onzas

### Further reading

* “banal”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
* San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎, La Noble Villa de Pila
** page 232: “Deſconçertarſe) Banal (pp) pie o mano”
** page 379: “Iuſto) Banal (pc) que en todo açierta”
** page 601: “Virtuoſo) Banal (pc) que ſigue la juſtiçia”

### Anagrams

* lanab, laban

## Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French banal.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bɑˈnɑl]
* Hyphenation: ba‧nal

### Adjective

banal
* banal

#### Derived terms

* banallik