Synonyms for tabu

Grammar : Adj

Spell : tuh-boo, ta-

Phonetic Transcription : təˈbu, tæ-

Définition of tabu

Origin : 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark" + bu "especially." But this may be folk etymology, as linguists in the Pacific have reconstructed an irreducable Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu "sacred, forbidden" (cf. Hawaiian kapu "taboo, prohibition, sacred, holy, consecrated;" Tahitian tapu "restriction, sacred;" Maori tapu "be under ritual restriction, prohibited"). The noun and verb are English innovations first recorded in Cook's book.

As in banned : adj outlawed
As in verboten : adj not allowed

Example sentences :

The Tabu was always most scrupulously regarded, after this, whenever employed.
Extract from : « The Teacher » by Jacob Abbott

Noa (n-a)--ceremonially free; unrestrained by tabu (p. 126).
Extract from : « Unwritten Literature of Hawaii » by Nathaniel Bright Emerson

You know as well as I do that a tabu like this is a serious business.
Extract from : « The Ebbing Of The Tide » by Louis Becke

Una has stolen that which is tabu to her and I will punish her.
Extract from : « B. C. 30,000 » by Sterner St. Paul Meek

There is nothing new or unnatural in this repression, this tabu on expectoration.
Extract from : « Preventable Diseases » by Woods Hutchinson

Paragot accepted meekly my report of Joanna's tabu of the Black Boar.
Extract from : « The Belovd Vagabond » by William J. Locke

Anything forbidden by their law or customs was called "tabu."
Extract from : « Scenes in the Hawaiian Islands and California » by Mary Evarts Anderson

When they are not allowed to touch anything they say it is tabu.
Extract from : « Celebrated Travels and Travellers » by Jules Verne

They brought with them the tabu, which is common to all Polynesia.
Extract from : « The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines » by Isabel Anderson

"I think that is because of the old system of tabu," Nan made the remark.
Extract from : « The Four Corners in Japan » by Amy Ella Blanchard

Words or expressions associated with your search

Most wanted synonyms

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019