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taboo

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The definition of taboo is something prohibited, forbidden or restricted.

(adjective)

An example of taboo is alcohol which is drunk while pregnant.

A taboo is defined as a restriction or something not allowed by a culture.

(noun)

An example of a taboo in some cultures is a man marrying a woman of another race.

See taboo in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. taboos

1. among some Polynesian peoples, a sacred prohibition put upon certain people, things, or acts which makes them untouchable, unmentionable, etc.
2. the highly developed system or practice of such prohibitions
1. any social prohibition or restriction that results from convention or tradition
2. Linguis. the substitution of one word or phrase for another because of such restriction

Origin: < a Polynesian language: cf. Tongan, Samoan, Maori, etc. tapu

adjective

sacred and prohibited by taboo
restricted by taboo: said of people
prohibited or forbidden by tradition, convention, etc.

transitive verb tabooed, tabooing

to put under taboo
to prohibit or forbid because of tradition, convention, etc.

See taboo in American Heritage Dictionary 4

also ta·bu

noun pl. ta·boos also ta·bus

A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion.
a. A prohibition, especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands, excluding something from use, approach, or mention because of its sacred and inviolable nature.
b. An object, a word, or an act protected by such a prohibition.

adjective

Excluded or forbidden from use, approach, or mention: a taboo subject.

transitive verb ta·booed also ta·bued, ta·boo·ing also ta·bu·ing, ta·boos also ta·bus

To exclude from use, approach, or mention; place under taboo.

Origin:

Origin: Tongan tabu, under prohibition

Word History: Among the many discoveries of Captain James Cook was a linguistic one, the term taboo. In a journal entry from 1777, Cook says this word “has a very comprehensive meaning; but, in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden᠁ When any thing is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that it is taboo.” Cook was in the Friendly Islands (now Tonga) at the time, so even though similar words occur in other Polynesian languages, the form taboo from Tongan tabu is the one we have borrowed. The Tongans used tabu as an adjective. Cook, besides borrowing the word into English, also made it into a noun referring to the prohibition itself and a verb meaning “to make someone or something taboo.” From its origins in Polynesia the word taboo has traveled as widely as Cook himself and is now used throughout the English-speaking world.

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