# taboo

Pronunciation: US say "tuh-BOO" /təˈbu/; UK

## Noun

1. A ban or inhibition that arises from social custom or from strong emotional aversion.
   - Simple: A ban on doing or saying something that comes from custom or strong feelings.
   - _The campaign aims to break the taboo surrounding mental illness at work._
   - _Food taboos kept the villagers from eating certain fish during the rainy season._
3. In Polynesian tradition, something sacred that may not be used, approached or mentioned.
   - Simple: In the Pacific islands of Polynesia, a holy thing that people must not touch, use or name.
   - _To the islanders, the chief's head was a taboo that no commoner dared to touch._
   - _The priests declared the grove a taboo, closed to everyone but themselves._

## Adjective

2. Forbidden, especially by custom, to be used, approached or mentioned.
   - Simple: Not allowed to be done, used or talked about, often because of custom.
   - _In her parents' generation, divorce was a taboo subject._
   - _Questions about salary remain largely taboo in job interviews._

## Verb

4. To mark something or someone as taboo.
   - Simple: To mark something as not allowed, because of custom or belief.
   - _After the drowning, the elders tabooed the beach for a full year._
   - _Elders taboo a stretch of reef every season so the fish can recover._
5. To ban or forbid something.
   - Simple: To forbid something.
   - _The new editor tabooed the word "unique" in every headline._
   - _Many offices taboo personal calls during meetings._

## Origin

Borrowed from Tongan tapu ("prohibited, sacred"), from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu; the p of the Tongan word was misheard as b. It is first recorded around 1777 and is a doublet of kapu.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/taboo (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).