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bannalis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word bannalis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1123, a charter
Ultimate origin
Latin bannus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin bannus
Latin bannalis

Pronunciation

  • Ecclesiastical: [banˈnaː.lis][1]

Forms

bannālis (neuter bannāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin bannus (“ban, jurisdiction”) + -ālis.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds it first in a charter of 1123, as a noun for a person subject to the lord's jurisdiction, and as an adjective in a diploma of 1129.[2]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it described what was ordered by a lord's ban, what carried that public authority, and what was subject to it:[3][4] a court session held by ban, a ban-protected wood or river where others might not cut or fish,[4][5] and above all the mills, ovens and presses that the lord's subjects had to use and pay for.[3][6] An English charter from before 1190 speaks of the jurisdictional mill-league of mills at Condé in Normandy.[6] As a noun it meant a person under such authority, and in 1182 a judicial district;[2][3] the neuter plural ⟨bannālia⟩ was the dues of such monopolies and the goods subject to them.[3]

English banal comes through French banal from Old French ⟨banel⟩ “communal”, a derivative of ⟨ban⟩; its sense “commonplace” grew from the mills and ovens used in common by serfs.[7]

Timeline

  • 1123 – A charter uses it of a person subject to the lord's jurisdiction.[2]
  • 1129 – A diploma uses it as an adjective.[2]
  • 1182 – It is used of a judicial district.[2]
  • before 1190 – An English charter speaks of the lord's mill-league at Condé.[6]
  • 1248 – A charter of Clermont distinguishes woods under ban from free woods.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Ordered or proclaimed by ban.[3][4][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Invested with the public authority called ban; jurisdictional.[3][4][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Subject to that authority; forbidden to common use, reserved.[3][4][5]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Subject to a lord's monopoly (of mills, ovens, presses), banal.[3][2]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A person subject to the lord's jurisdiction.[3][2][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A judicial district.[2]

Word family

  • bannālia

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  6. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Bannalis.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/bannalis. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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