taboo English · revision 2406

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /təˈbuː/, /tæˈbuː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|to|tabu|t=under prohibition, forbidden]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) first used in English by Captain James Cook in 1777, in the account of his voyage to the Friendly Islands (Tonga).^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Similar words exist in other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian ''kapu'';^(AHD)^(Etymonline) Etymonline doubts the explanation of Tongan ''tabu'' from ''ta'' “mark” and ''bu'' “especially”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Set apart or consecrated for a special purpose; forbidden, inviolable or cursed (1777).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Polynesian languages the word is generally an adjective; its use as a noun and as a verb are English innovations, both found in Cook in 1777.^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) By 1791 the verb meant to forbid something by social influence,^(OED 1989) and from 1826 the adjective was used figuratively of anything banned by custom or good taste.^(OED 1989) In 1883 anthropologists extended the noun to similar customs among other peoples.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1777 – adjective, noun and verb, of Polynesian prohibitions.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1791 – verb, to forbid by social influence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1826 – adjective, figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1883 – in anthropology, similar customs elsewhere.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Forbidden by social custom or as improper.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Set apart as sacred and forbidden for general use.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A ban or inhibition resulting from social custom or aversion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A prohibition, especially in Polynesia, on using, approaching or mentioning something sacred.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To forbid or place under a taboo; to avoid as taboo.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The spelling ''tabu'' is also used.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}