Prohibition

How to spell prohibition

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce prohibition

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prohibition mean?

1. nounAn official act or rule that forbids something, or the state of being forbidden.

Prohibition in a sentence

• The new policy includes a strict prohibition on smoking in the office.

• The council debated a prohibition against parking on the narrow lane.

Where does prohibition come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb prohibere, which literally meant 'to hold back' or 'to keep away', built from pro- ('away, in front of') and habere ('to hold or keep'). The noun form prohibitio described the act of forbidding or restraining something. English took the word in through Old French prohibition during the late 1300s, keeping the sense of an official ban or restraint. The same habere root that supplies the silent-looking 'hib' in the middle also powers a large family of English words such as 'habit', 'inhibit', and 'exhibit', so spotting that shared 'hib' element helps fix the spelling. In American history the capitalised Prohibition came to name the 1920s era when the manufacture and sale of alcohol were banned, a sense that grew naturally from the older general meaning.

How the word is built

• pro- (away, in front)
• hib- (root of habere: to hold, keep)
• -ition (noun suffix)