Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Banyan |
BanyanNoun1. East Indian tree that puts out aerial shoots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks. 2. A loose fitting jacket; originally worn in India. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "banyan" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1823. (references) |
Note: Banyan \Ban"yan\, noun. [See Banian.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Banyan |
Electrical Engineering | A multistage network consisting of switching devices with two buffered inputs and two outputs arranged to allow any network input to be connected to any network output over a single path. Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Banyan A Hindû shopkeeper. In Bengal it denotes a native who manages the money concerns of a European, and also serves as an interpreter. In Madras such an agent is called Dubash (i.e. one who can speak two languages). (See Banian Days.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
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| Binomial nomenclature | ||||||||||||||
| Ficus benghalensis | ||||||||||||||
| Ref: ITIS 506543 |
Banyans are a type of tropical fig tree of the genus Ficus (Family Moraceae). Banyans are large trees that usually start life as a seedling epiphytic on another tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges), where a fig-eating bird has deposited the seed. The seedling quickly develops aerial roots from the branches, which grow into full stems once they touch the ground. The original host is eventually strangled or split apart by the banyan's rapid growth, and one common name for these trees is "strangler figs". This characteristic of developing aerial roots allows a single tree to spread over a large area. The biggest banyan tree in Poona, India is said to measure half a mile around its perimeter. Like other members of this genus (which includes the common edible fig or F. carica), banyans have a unique fruit and insect mediated fertilization process (see Ficus). There is typically only one species of wasp capable of fertilizing the flowers of the fig, and therefore plantings of banyans outside of their native range results in effectively sterile individuals. For example, in Hawai'i, some 60 species of figs have been introduced horticulturally. However, only four of the wasps that ferilize Ficus have been introduced, so only four species of figs produce viable seeds. Figs are easily propagated from cuttings.
The Indian banyan (Ficus benghalensis) can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. It is originally from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but has been imported in other tropical regions. The first banyan tree in the U.S. was planted by Thomas Alva Edison in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa), also known as the Malayan banyan is native from Ceylon to India, southern China, Ryukyu Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia.
There is also a company called Banyan which named itself after the tree, see Banyan (company); and a music band, see Banyan (band).
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Banyan."
Synonyms: BanyanSynonyms: banian (n), banian tree (n), banyan tree (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Fasting | Fast, jour maigre; fast day, banyan day; Lent, quadragesima; Ramadan, Ramazan; spare diet, meager diet; lenten diet, lenten entertainment; soupe maigre, short commons, Barmecide feast; short rations. |
Insufficiency | Dole, mite, pittance; short allowance, short commons; half rations; banyan day. |
Vegetable | Bush, jungle, prairie; heath, heather; fern, bracken; furze, gorse, whin; grass, turf; pasture, pasturage; turbary; sedge, rush, weed; fungus, mushroom, toadstool; lichen, moss, conferva, mold; growth; alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan; blow, blowth; floret, petiole; pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Banyan |
| English words defined with "banyan": bo tree, bo'sun, Botany Bay fig ♦ Ficus religiosa, Ficus rubiginosa ♦ Indian fig ♦ little-leaf fig ♦ peepul, pipal, pipal tree, pipul, Port Jackson fig ♦ rusty rig ♦ sacred fig. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "banyan": BANYAN DAY ♦ Lightweight Directory Access Protocol ♦ Netmarq Limited ♦ VINES. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Banyan" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. German (banyan tree). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | And wouldn't you rather be a left-handed flea, a crab on a slab at the bottom of the sea, a newt on the root of a banyan tree, a fig on twig in Galilee, than a man who never learns how to be free (Pippin: His Life and Times; writing credit: Roger O. Hirson) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Banyan Deer (1959) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Looking up through a large banyan tree. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | A Banyan tree at Palm Beach, Fla. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Royal houses resemble those banyan trees of India, each branch of which, by bending to the ground, takes root there and becomes a banyan |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Banyan" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 63.27% of the time. "Banyan" is used about 49 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 63.27% | 31 | 62,296 |
| Noun (proper) | 34.69% | 17 | 85,106 |
| Noun (common) | 2.04% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 49 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| USA | Banyan Corporation |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "banyan": banyan day ♦ banyan days ♦ banyan network ♦ banyan tree ♦ indian banyan. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "banyan"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Bulgarian | посредник (agent, ambassador, banian, broker, factor, go between, intercessor, intermediary, mediator, middleman, moderator, negotiant, negotiator, umpire). (various references) | |
Chinese | 榕 (banyan tree, Ficus wightiana). (various references) | |
Czech | banyán. (various references) | |
Danish | banyan-netværk (banyan network). (various references) | |
Dutch | Banyan-netwerk (banyan network), Banyan (banyan network), waringin, Indische vijgenboom, Indische výgenboom. (various references) | |
Esperanto | banjano. (various references) | |
Finnish | Banyan-verkko (banyan network). (various references) | |
French | banian. (various references) | |
German | Banyan Virtual Network-System (banyan network), Banyan Vines (banyan network). (various references) | |
Greek | ινδοσύκη (banian), μπανυανό δίκτυο (banyan network), δίκτυο banyan (banyan network). (various references) | |
Hungarian | indiai fügefa, indiai léggyökerű fa. (various references) | |
Indonesian | beringin (banyan tree). (various references) | |
Italian | fico del banian. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 菩提樹 (banyan tree), 榕樹 (Okinawan banyan tree). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | がじゅまる (Okinawan banyan tree), ぼ いじゅ (banyan tree). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | anyanbay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | rede banyan (banyan network), figueira‐da‐índia, comerciante hindu. (various references) | |
Russian | индус-торговец (banian). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | vrsta drveta (assegai, banian, pagoda tree). (various references) | |
Spanish | bata oriental, secretario (clerk, registrar, sec, secretary, secretary bird), red Banyan (banyan network), intermediario (come between, go between, intermediary, intermediate, jobber, mediatorial, mediatory, middleman), higuera india. (various references) | |
Turkish | banyan ağacı, hint inciri. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | маклер (banian, broker, huckster). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | nh buôn người Ân áo ngủ (banian). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Sanskrit | 300 BCE-Modern | vanija. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "banyan": banyans. (additional references) | |
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"Banyan" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Bahnemann, Baiyun, balnain, banan, Banba, Banija, Banin, banion, Baniyas, banya, banyang, banyas, Banyi, banyon, Basnyat, bayan, Bayano, benian, Benyi, Beynam, Bhagya, binman, binya, Binyang, bonyon, boyan, Branigan, bunyan, wannian, Zanjani. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "banyan" (pronounced ba"nyun) |
| 5 | -a" n y u n | Canyon, companion. |
| 4 | -n y u n | communion, disunion, dominion, grunion, minion, nonunion, onion, opinion, pinion, reunion, union. |
| 3 | -y u n | battalion, billion, bullion, civilian, jillion, medallion, million, multibillion, multimillion, octillion, pavilion, pillion, rebellion, scallion, scullion, stallion, trillion, vaudevillian, vermilion, Vermillion, zillion. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-b-n-n-y" | |
-2 letters: anna, naan, nana. | |
-3 letters: aba, aby, ana, any, baa, ban, bay, nab, nan, nay. | |
-4 letters: aa, ab, an, ay, ba, by, na, ya. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-b-n-n-y" | |
+1 letter: banyans. | |
+4 letters: abundantly, antibaryon, biannually. | |
+5 letters: antibaryons, inalienably, inhabitancy. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Names: Company Usage 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Translations: Ancient 15. Derivations 16. Rhymes | 17. Anagrams 18. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
