Meanings
banns1
- pluralplural onlyThe announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).
VVhy the banns have been publiſhed, and nobody has forbidden them, 'tis true—but you know either of the parties may change their minds even after they enter the church.
1766, George Colman, David Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage, a Comedy. […], London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […]; R[oberts] Baldwin, […]; R. Davis, […]; and T[homas] Davies, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, page 32Synonyms: banns of marriage
- historicalpluralplural onlyAny public announcement of an upcoming event.
The Banes which are reade beefore the beginninge of the playes of Chester, 4 June, 1600.
Banns2
- pluralplural of Bann
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe announcement of a forthcoming marriage (legally required for a church wedding in England and Wales and read on the three Sundays preceding the marriage).
Origin
An alteration of bans.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan amonestacions
- amonestacionsannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Finnish avioliittokuulutus, kuulutus
- avioliittokuulutusannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
- kuulutusannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
French bans
- bansannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
German Aufgebot
- Aufgebotannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Irish bannaí, fógraí
- bannaíannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
- fógraíannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
- fógraí póstaannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Italian pubblicazioni
- pubblicazioniannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Polish zapowiedzi
- zapowiedziannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Swedish lysning
- lysningannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Tagalog tawag sa kasal
- tawag sa kasalannouncement of a forthcoming marriage
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with banns
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
banns. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banns
“banns.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banns. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “banns,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banns.
Source: banns on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.