taboo

Definitions


[taˈbuː], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing
(e.g: many taboos have developed around physical exposure)


Phrases:

Origin:
late 18th century: from Tongan tabu ‘set apart, forbidden’; introduced into English by Captain James Cook


[taˈbuː], (Adjective)

Definitions:
- prohibited or restricted by social custom
(e.g: sex was a taboo subject)


Phrases:

Origin:
late 18th century: from Tongan tabu ‘set apart, forbidden’; introduced into English by Captain James Cook


[taˈbuː], (Verb)

Definitions:
- place under a taboo
(e.g: traditional societies taboo female handling of food during this period)


Phrases:

Origin:
late 18th century: from Tongan tabu ‘set apart, forbidden’; introduced into English by Captain James Cook




definition by Oxford Dictionaries