Meanings
- uncountableMugwort.
[…] at the feet of the monk[,] he dropped iron, salt and bollan bane.
1999, Herbert H. Wernecke, Celebrating Christmas Around the World, page 1081 more example
Members of the House of Keys, which makes the island's laws, are very much involved, and the official instruction says the officials should all wear bollan bane. This is not some Dark Age clothing but – and it gets more J K Rowling-ish the more you look into all this – but^([sic]) a plant called mugwort which is Manx's own way of warding off evil spirits.
2005, Benedict Le Vay, Bradt Eccentric Britain: The Bradt Guide To Britain's Follies, page 89
Origin
- Manxbollan bane“white wort”
- Englishbollan bane
From Manx bollan bane (“white wort”), from bollan (“herb, wort”) + bane (“white”); compare Scottish Gaelic bàn.
More words from Manx
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bollan bane. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bollan%20bane
“bollan bane.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bollan%20bane. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bollan bane,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bollan%20bane.
Source: bollan bane on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.