banyan

banyan
/ban"yeuhn/, n.
1. Also called banyan tree. an East Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, of the mulberry family, having branches that send out adventitious roots to the ground and sometimes cause the tree to spread over a wide area.
2. Also, bania, baniya. (in India)
a. a Hindu trader or merchant of a particular caste, the rules of which forbid eating flesh.
b. a loose shirt, jacket, or gown.
Also, banian.
[1590-1600; < Pg (perh. < Ar) < Gujarati vaniyo (sing.) or vaniya (pl.) member of the merchant caste (cf. Prakrit vaniaya, Skt vanija trader); the tree is said to have taken its name from a particular tree of the species near which merchants had built a booth; source of final nasal uncert.]

* * *

Unusually shaped tree (Ficus benghalensis, or F. indica) of the fig genus in the mulberry family, native to tropical Asia.

Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and take root in the soil to become new trunks. The banyan reaches a height of up to 100 ft (30 m) and spreads laterally indefinitely. One tree may in time assume the appearance of a very dense thicket as a result of the tangle of roots and trunks.

* * *

▪ plant
 (Ficus benghalensis, or F. indica), unusually shaped tree of the fig genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae) native to tropical Asia. Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and take root in the soil to become new trunks. The banyan reaches a height up to 30 metres (100 feet) and spreads laterally indefinitely. One tree may in time assume the appearance of a very dense thicket as a result of the tangle of roots and trunks.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Banyan — steht für: Banyan Feige oder Banyanbaum aus der Gattung Feigen (Ficus), fälschlich auch für weitere Arten der Untergattung Urostigma Banyan Company, eine US amerikanische Netzwerktechnik Firma, ab 1999 unter dem Namen „ePresence“ Banyan Vines,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Banyan — (Санкт Антон ам Арльберг,Австрия) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: Dorfstraße 55, 6580 Санкт …   Каталог отелей

  • Banyan — Ban yan (b[a^]n yan or b[a^]n*y[a^]n ), n. [See {Banian}.] (Bot.) A tree of the same genus as the common fig, and called the Indian fig ({Ficus Indica}), whose branches send shoots to the ground, which take root and become additional trunks,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • banyan — Indian fig tree, 1630s, so called in reference to a tree on the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf under which the Hindu merchants known as banians had built a pagoda. From Skt. vanija merchant …   Etymology dictionary

  • banyan — (also banian) ► NOUN ▪ an Indian fig tree, whose branches produce aerial roots which later become new trunks. ORIGIN originally applied by Europeans to a tree under which traders had built a pagoda: from Gujarati, trader …   English terms dictionary

  • banyan — [ban′yən] n. [so called in allusion to such a tree on the S Iranian coast at the E end of the Persian Gulf, under which the banians (see BANIAN2) had built a pagoda] a widespread, tropical fig tree (Ficus benghalensis) that is native to India:… …   English World dictionary

  • Banyan — Taxobox name = Banyan image width = 240px image caption = Illustration of Ficus benghalensis regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Urticales familia = Moraceae genus = Ficus subgenus = (Urostigma) subgenus… …   Wikipedia

  • banyan — bengalinis fikusas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Šilkmedinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, medieninis, pluoštinis, vaistinis augalas (Ficus benghalensis), paplitęs atogrąžų Azijoje. Turi narkotinių medžiagų. Naudojamas induizmo religinių apeigų… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • banyan — Banian Ban ian (b[a^]n yan or b[a^]n*y[a^]n ; 277), n. [Skr. banij merchant. The tree was so named by the English, because used as a market place by the merchants.] 1. A Hindu trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer. [Written also {banyan}.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • banyan — [17] Banyan originally meant ‘Hindu trader’. It is an arabization of Gujarati vāniyān ‘traders’, which comes ultimately from Sanskrit vanija ‘merchant’ (the Portuguese version, banian, produced an alternative English spelling). When European… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”