banyan, banian
(noun) a loose fitting jacket; originally worn in India
banyan, banyan tree, banian, banian tree, Indian banyan, East Indian fig tree, Ficus bengalensis
(noun) East Indian tree that puts out aerial shoots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks
Source: WordNet® 3.1
banyan (plural banyans)
An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
A tropical Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, that has many aerial roots.
A type of loose gown worn in India.
(India) A vest; an undershirt; a singlet.
(British, Naval slang, dated) A camping excursion on shore, to give a ship's crew a break from shipboard routine.
• (tropical Indian fig tree): banyan tree
Source: Wiktionary
Ban"yan, n. Etym: [See Banian.] (Bot.)
Definition: A tree of the same genus as the common fig, and called the Indian fig (Ficus Indica), whose branches send shoots to the ground, which take root and become additional trunks, until it may be the tree covers some acres of ground and is able to shelter thousands of men.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
4 April 2025
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
