Meanings
banyan1
plural banyans · alternative archaic banian · alternative obsolete bannian
- An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
- A tropical Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, that has many aerial roots.
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.
1914, Teresa Frances, William Rose Benét, The East I Know, translation of original by Paul Claudel, page 331 more example
When doubling a point, which was covered with a heavy growth of the banian mangrove, which extended into deep water, we discovered a party of Kubu Orangs fishing from off a pack of drift that had lodged against the inward trend of the northern shore.
1879, [R. Elton Smile [pseudonym; Elton Romeo Smilie]], “[Letter dated March 18th, 1878]”, in Investigations and Experience of M. Shawtinbach, at Saar Soong, Sumatra. […Synonyms: banyan tree
- Various other trees of the Ficus subgenus Urostigma, especially Ficus pertusa (Central American banyan) and Ficus microcarpa (Chinese banyan or Malayan banyan).
- A type of loose gown worn in India.
- IndiaPakistanA vest; an undershirt; a singlet.
It was an honest letter, written by an honest man, then stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers.
1889, Rudyard Kipling, “At the Pit's Mouth”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 50
Banyan2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tropical Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, that has many aerial roots.
More synonyms by meaning
nounEast Indian tree that puts out aerial shoots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Sanskritवाणिज
- Gujaratiવાણિયો“merchant”
- Arabicبَنِيَان
- Portuguesebaniano
- Englishbanyan
From Portuguese baniano, from Arabic بَنِيَان (baniyān), from Gujarati વાણિયો (vāṇiyo, “merchant”), from Sanskrit वाणिज (vāṇijá), 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. Doublet of bunnia.
More words from Portuguese, Arabic, Gujarati
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan banià
- baniàtropical South Asian fig tree
Chinese Mandarin 印度商人, 榕
- 印度商人 (Yìndù shāngrén)Indian trader, merchant
- 榕 (róng)tropical South Asian fig tree
- 榕樹 /榕树 (róngshù)tropical South Asian fig tree
- 睡袍 (shuìpáo)type of loose gown worn in the Indian subcontinent
- 晨衣 (chényī)type of loose gown worn in the Indian subcontinent
Czech banyán
- banyántropical South Asian fig tree
Dutch banyan, wurgvijg
- banyantropical South Asian fig tree
- wurgvijgtropical South Asian fig tree
Finnish intialainen kaupustelija, banianviikuna
- intialainen kaupustelijaIndian trader, merchant
- banianviikunatropical South Asian fig tree
- baniantropical South Asian fig tree
- banyantype of loose gown worn in the Indian subcontinent
French commerçant indien, banian
- commerçant indienIndian trader, merchant
- banianIndian trader, merchant
- baniantropical South Asian fig tree
Hindi बरगत, बरगद
- बरगत (bargat)tropical South Asian fig tree
- बरगद (bargad)tropical South Asian fig tree
- बड़ (baṛ)tropical South Asian fig tree
- बट (baṭ)tropical South Asian fig tree
- वट (vaṭ)tropical South Asian fig tree
Hungarian indiai füge
- indiai fügetropical South Asian fig tree
Indonesian beringin
- beringintropical South Asian fig tree
Korean 반얀나무
- 반얀나무 (banyannamu)tropical South Asian fig tree
Malay jejawi
- jejawitropical South Asian fig tree
Persian انجیر بنگالی, لور
- انجیر بنگالی (anjir-e bangāli)tropical South Asian fig tree
- لور (levar)tropical South Asian fig tree
Polish banian, figowiec bengalski
- baniantropical South Asian fig tree
- figowiec bengalskitropical South Asian fig tree
Portuguese baniano, baniane
- banianoIndian trader, merchant
- banianeIndian trader, merchant
- figueira-de-bengalatropical South Asian fig tree
- banianatype of loose gown worn in the Indian subcontinent
Punjabi ਬੋਹੜ, بوڑھ
- ਬੋਹੜ (bohaṛ)tropical South Asian fig tree
- بوڑھ (boṛh)tropical South Asian fig tree
- بوہَڑ (bohaṛ)tropical South Asian fig tree
Romanian banian
- baniantropical South Asian fig tree
Russian банья́н, баниа́н
- банья́н (banʹján)tropical South Asian fig tree
- баниа́н (banián)tropical South Asian fig tree
Spanish baniano
- banianotropical South Asian fig tree
Swahili baniani
- banianiIndian trader, merchant
Tagalog balete, balite
- baletetropical South Asian fig tree
- balitetropical South Asian fig tree
- balititropical South Asian fig tree
Tamil ஆலமரம், ஆல்
- ஆலமரம் (ālamaram)tropical South Asian fig tree
- ஆல் (āl)tropical South Asian fig tree
- பனியன் (paṉiyaṉ)type of loose gown worn in the Indian subcontinent
Thai ไทร
- ไทร (sai)tropical South Asian fig tree
Urdu برگد, برگت
- برگد (bargad)tropical South Asian fig tree
- برگت (bargat)tropical South Asian fig tree
- بڑ (baṛ)tropical South Asian fig tree
- بٹ (baṭ)tropical South Asian fig tree
- وٹ (vaṭ)tropical South Asian fig tree
Vietnamese đa
- đatropical South Asian fig tree
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with banyan
All rhymes →Cite this entry
banyan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banyan
“banyan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banyan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “banyan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banyan.
Source: banyan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.