bane
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biology
medicine
natural-sciences
pathology
sciences
veterinary
zoology
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *banô
Proto-West Germanic *banō
Old English bana
Middle English bane
English bane
The noun is derived from Middle English bane (“person or thing that destroys life, murderer, slayer; person who destroys the soul; destruction of life, death, doom; poison”), from Old English bana (“person or thing that causes death, murderer”), from Proto-West Germanic *banō, from Proto-Germanic *banô (“killer, murderer, slayer; death, bane”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to slay, kill; to strike”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌾𐌰 (banja, “wound”)
* Old Frisian bona (“death; murder”)
* Old Norse bani (Danish bane (“death; murder”), Icelandic bani (“bane, death”), Swedish bane (“death; murder”)), Old Norse ben (“(moral) wound”)
* Old English ben, benn (“mortal injury; wound”)
* Old High German bano (“death”) (Middle High German ban, bane)
* Old Saxon bano (“death; murder”), beni (“mortal injury; wound”)
Inflected forms:
form: banes
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: A cause of misery or ruin.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: the bane of one’s existence
Money, thou bane of bliſſe, & ſourſe of vvo, / VVhence com'ſt thou, that thou art ſo freſh and fine? / I knovv thy parentage is baſe and lovv: / Man found thee poore and dirtie in a mine.
This is the great bane and ſcandal of the Church, that ſuch Livings as more immediately belong to it ſhould be the vvorſt ſupplyed, […]
All that I apprehend is, that dear Numps will be angry I have published these lines [of his poem]; not that he has any reason [to] be ashamed of them, but for fear of those rogues, the bane to all excellent performances, the imitators.
She, who had been the bane of his life, blighting his hope, and awarding him, for love and domestic happiness, long mourning and cheerless solitude, he treated with the respect a good son might offer a kind mother.
At Barking, previously the bane of L.T.S. operating staff, the new works have now simplified the working of traffic from four converging routes in the area.
gloss: Chiefly in the names of poisonous plants or substances: a poison.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
countable
examples: For my part I would rather counſell you to deſtroy your Rattes and Miſe with Traps, Banes, or Weeſels: for beſides the ſluttiſhneſſe & lothſomeneſſe of the Catte (you know what ſhe layes in the Malt heape) ſhe is moſt daungerous and pernicious among children, as I mee ſelf haue had good experience.
In dairie no cat, / Laie bane for a rat. / […] / Take heede how thou laieſt, the bane for the rats, / for poiſoning ſeruant, thy ſelfe and thy brats.
Take this (he gaue a folded cloth and to the bane therein / he mixed ſomewhat of his blood) this ſame (quoth he) ſhall win / To thee again the Husbands loue when he ſhall it eſtrange: / For out of doubt, I know it I, he takes delight in change.
[H]e traueld through the vvatrie dreads, / For bane to poiſon his ſharpe arrovves heads, / That death, but toucht, cauſde; […]
Thus am I doubly arm'd; my Death and Life, / My Bane and Antidote are both before me: […]
gloss: Misery, woe; also, doom, ruin; or physical injury, harm.
pos: noun
tags: poetic
uncountable
examples: Hath ſome fond lover tic'd [i.e., enticed] thee to thy bane? / And vvilt thou leave the Church, and love a ſtie?
He finds out, soon enough for his weal and his bane, that he is stronger than Nature: and right tyrannously and irreverently he lords it over her, clearing, delving, dyking, building, without fear or shame.
gloss: A disease of sheep in which breakdown of tissue occurs; rot.
pos: noun
tags: UK
dialectal
uncountable
gloss: A person or thing that causes death or destruction; a killer, a murderer, a slayer.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
examples: We haue alſo had experience yͭ the deſire of a kingdõe [kingdome] knoweth no kindred. The brother hath bene the brothers bane.
Let Rome her ſelfe bee bane vnto her ſelfe, / And ſhee vvhome mightie kingdomes curſie [curtsey] too, / Like a forlorne and deſperate caſt avvay, / Doe ſhamefull execution on her ſelfe.
[T]he broad flaſhing skies / VVith brimſtone thick and clouds of fiery bain / Shall meet vvith raging Etna's and Veſuvius flame.
Beside him lies the bane of his life,
dead from knife-wounds.
gloss: Death; destruction; (countable) an instance of this.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
uncountable
examples: I vvill not be affraid of Death and Bane, / Till Birnane Forreſt come to Dunſinane.
[I]f now again intoxicated and moaped with theſe royal, and therefore ſo delicious becauſe royal rudiments of bondage, the cup of deception, ſpiced and tempered to their bane, they ſhould deliver up themſelves to theſe glozing words and illuſions of him, vvhoſe rage and utmoſt violence they have ſuſtained, and overcome ſo nobly.
[A] great depopulation happened [due to the plague], at the Aſſiſes of Perſons of quality, and the tvvo Judges, Baron Yates, and Baron Rigby getting their banes there, died fevv dayes later.
Doctor [William] VVhitaker returning from Lambeth Conference, brought home vvith him the bane of his health, contracted there by hard and late ſtudying and vvatching in a very cold VVinter.
Derived words: a boon and a bane
a boon or a bane
baneful
bane of someone's existence
bane of someone's life
boon and bane
boon or bane
embane
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: напаст
roman: napast
lang: Bulgarian
word: зло
roman: zlo
lang: Catalan
word: desgràcia
lang: Catalan
word: flagell
lang: Czech
word: prokletí
lang: Czech
word: trápení
lang: Danish
word: bane
lang: Dutch
word: verderf
lang: Finnish
word: kirous
lang: Finnish
word: maanvaiva
lang: Finnish
word: riesa
lang: Finnish
word: vitsaus
lang: French
word: calamité
lang: French
word: cauchemar
lang: French
word: drame
lang: French
word: fléau
lang: Galician
word: azoute
lang: Galician
word: desgraza
lang: Galician
word: flaxelo
lang: German
word: Ruin
lang: German
word: Verderben
lang: Ancient Greek
word: δήλημα
roman: dḗlēma
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ὄλεθρος
roman: ólethros
lang: Hungarian
word: csapás
lang: Hungarian
word: rontás
lang: Irish
word: urbhaidh
lang: Italian
word: disgrazia
lang: Italian
word: flagello
lang: Italian
word: piaga
lang: Italian
word: rovina
lang: Italian
word: sventura
lang: Macedonian
word: на́паст
roman: nápast
lang: Macedonian
word: про́клетство
roman: prókletstvo
lang: Macedonian
word: зло
roman: zlo
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: bane
lang: Persian
word: یمان
roman: yamân
lang: Portuguese
word: desgraça
lang: Portuguese
word: desventura
lang: Portuguese
word: flagelo
lang: Portuguese
word: maldição
lang: Portuguese
word: perdição
lang: Portuguese
word: ruína
lang: Russian
word: бич
roman: bič
lang: Russian
word: ги́бель
roman: gíbelʹ
lang: Russian
word: напа́сть
roman: napástʹ
lang: Russian
word: прокля́тие
roman: prokljátije
lang: Russian
word: зло
roman: zlo
lang: Spanish
word: desgracia
lang: Spanish
word: maldición
lang: Spanish
word: ruina
lang: Spanish
word: perdición
lang: Spanish
word: quebranto
lang: Swedish
word: bane
lang: Turkish
word: felaket
lang: Turkish
word: yıkım
lang: Ukrainian
word: напасть
roman: napastʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: прокляття
roman: prokljattja
lang: Ukrainian
word: загибель
roman: zahybelʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: зло
roman: zlo