Syn. -- To Banish, Exile, Expel. The idea of a coercive removal from a place is common to these terms. A man is banished when he is forced by the government of a country (be he a foreigner or a native) to leave its borders. A man is exiled when he is driven into banishment from his native country and home. Thus to exile is to banish, but to banish is not always to exile. To expel is to eject or banish summarily or authoritatively, and usually under circumstances of disgrace; as, to expel from a college; expelled from decent society.
Ban"ish*er (&?;), n. One who banishes.
Ban"ish*ment (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bannissement.] The act of banishing, or the state of being banished.
He secured himself by the banishment of his enemies.
Johnson.
Round the wide world in banishment we roam.
Dryden.
Syn. -- Expatriation; ostracism; expulsion; proscription; exile; outlawry.
Ban"is*ter (&?;), n. [A corruption of baluster.] A baluster; (pl.) the balustrade of a staircase.
He struggled to ascend the pulpit stairs, holding hard on the banisters. Sir W. Scott.
Ban"jo (&?;), n. [Formerly also banjore and banjer; corrupted from bandore, through negro slave pronunciation.] A stringed musical instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and hands.
Bank (bk), n. [OE. banke; akin to E. bench, and prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. bakki. See Bench.] 1. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow.
They cast up a bank against the city.
2 Sam. xx. 15.