Banyan

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbæn.jÉ™n/

Alternative forms

• banian, bannian

Origin

From Portuguese baniano, from Arabic بنيان, from Gujarati વાણિયો (vāṇiyo, "merchant"), from Sanskrit वाणिज, 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.

Full definition of banyan

Noun

1. An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
2. A tropical Indian fig tree, , that has many aerial roots.
• 1914, Teresa Frances & William Rose Benét, The East I Know, We climb and then descend; we pass by the great banyan which, like Atlas, settling himself powerfully on his contorted haunches, seems awaiting with knee and shoulder the burden of the sky.
3. A type of loose gown worn in India.

Synonyms

• (tropical Indian fig tree) banyan tree