bane

The definition of bane means something that will kill, destroy or distress someone.

(noun)

An example of bane is what kryptonite is to Superman.

See bane in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

Origin: ME < OE bana < IE base *bhen-, to strike, wound > Avestan banta-, sick, weak, Goth banja, wound, blow

See bane in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Fatal injury or ruin: “Hath some fond lover tic'd thee to thy bane?” (George Herbert).
a. A cause of harm, ruin, or death: “Obedience,/Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,/Makes slaves of men” (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
b. A source of persistent annoyance or exasperation: “The spellings of foreign names are often the bane of busy copy editors” (Norm Goldstein).
A deadly poison.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English, destroyer

Origin: , from Old English bana; see g^when- in Indo-European roots

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