BANE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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bane

[ beyn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a person or thing that ruins or spoils:
Gambling was the bane of his existence.
a deadly poison (often used in combination, as in the names of poisonous plants):
wolfsbane;
henbane.
death; destruction; ruin.
Obsolete. that which causes death or destroys life:
entrapped and drowned beneath the watery bane.

bane

/ ��ɪ�� /

noun

a person or thing that causes misery or distress (esp in the phrase bane of one's life )
something that causes death or destruction
1. a fatal poison
2. ( in combination )
  ratsbane
archaic.
ruin or distress

bane

/ ��ɪ��; ben /

noun

a Scot word for bone

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bana “slayer”; cognate with Old Norse bani “death, murderer,” Old Frisian bona “m�ܰ��,” Old Saxon bano “m�ܰ��,” Old High German bano “s��,” bana “death”; akin to Armenian ǰ��ǰ�� “to destroy,” Greek �ٳ��í�Ա𾱲� “to strike,” Latin -fendere “to strike,” Persian zahr ‼��Ǿ��ǲ�,” Polish ��ǲԾ�ć “to pursue,” Sanskrit ��á�Գپ� “to strike”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

Old English bana ; related to Old Norse bani death, Old High German bano destruction, death

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It’s a bane of hikers, but botanists say the native plant plays an important role in the ecosystem.

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Napster, the former music pirating site and bane of major labels at the turn of the millennium, is today a minor player compared to Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.

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Comparisons were the bane of their early career.

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Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter joked that the e-books question has been the bane of his business’ social media manager’s existence for a while now.

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A refuge for some and bane for others.

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