English Explanatory Dictionary

taboo

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
  2. Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.
adj
  1. Excluded or forbidden from use, approach or mention.
  2. Culturally forbidden.
verb
  1. To mark as taboo.
  2. To ban or prohibit.
  3. To avoid.

Pronunciation

/təˈbuː/ /tæˈbuː/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-taboo.wav /ˈʈæ.bu/ /ʈəˈbu/

Word forms

taboo taboos tabu tapu more taboo most taboo tabooing tabooed

Etymology

Borrowed from Tongan tapu (“prohibited, sacred”), from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu. Doublet of kapu. First attested in c. 1777. The p in the Tongan source was misheard as b.

Synonyms

tabooize

Derived words

nontaboo taboo avoidance taboo deformation tabooer tabooise tabooish tabooism tabooist tabooistic tabooless tabooness tabooification tabooize
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