Forms: 6 baniane, 7 bannyan, 7–8 bannian, 8–9 banyan, 7– banian. [a. Pg. banian, prob. a. Arab. banyān (16th c.), ad. Gujarātī vāṇiyo man of the trading caste, f. Skr. vaṇij merchant. ‘The terminal nasal may be taken from the plural form vāṇiyān’ (Col. Yule).]
1. A Hindoo trader, especially one from the province of Guzerat (‘many of which have for ages been settled in Arabian ports, and known by this name’—Col. Yule); sometimes applied by early writers to all Hindoos in Western India.
1599. Hakluyt, Voy., II. I. 310. A Baniane … one of the Indians inhabiting the countrey of Cambaia.
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 37. The Bannyans are tawny in complexion, are craftie, faire spoken, exquisite Merchants and superstitious.
1676. Phil. Trans., XI. 752. The religion of the Banians not permitting them to eat any thing that hath had life.
1845. Stocqueler, Handbk. Brit. Ind. (1854), 23. Bhyses, or Banians, are the trading class.
2. In Bengal applied to: A native broker attached to a house of business, or a person similarly employed by a private gentleman; now usually called sircar.
1687. A. Lovell, Thevenot’s Trav., III. I. xxxii. 55. Every one hath his banian in the Indies.
1783. Burke, Sp. E. Ind. Bill, Wks. 1842, I. 293. Mr. Hastings’s bannian was, after this auction, found possessed of territories, [etc.].
1845. Stocqueler, Handbk. Brit. Ind. (1854), 40. Banians or dubashes (a species of broker to the European houses).
3. A loose gown, jacket, or shirt of flannel, worn in India. (Originally attrib. from sense 1.)
1725. in Harl. Misc., VIII. 297 (D.). I have lost nothing by it but a banyan shirt, a corner of my quilt, and my bible singed.
1772. Graves, Spir. Quix., XI. iv. (D.). His banyan with silver clasp wrapt round His shrinking paunch.
1845. Stocqueler, Handbk. Brit. Ind. (1854), 315. Even in the low country a light flannel banian (jacket or shirt) is of service.
4. attrib. (in reference to the Banians’ abstinence from flesh and sacred estimation of animal life): Banian-day (Naut.), one on which no meat is served out; Banian-hospital, one for animals.
1748. Smollett, Rod. Rand., xxv. (D.). On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays the ship’s company had no allowance of meat, and … these meagre days were called banyan days.
1823. Lamb, Elia, Ser. I. iii. (1865), 19. We had three banyan to four meat days in the week.
1813. J. Forbes, Orient. Mem., III. 129. A banian-hospital … where he saw a number of sick oxen, camels, and horses.
5. Banian- or Banyan-tree, now often simply Banyan: the Indian Fig Tree (Ficus religiosa or indica) a remarkable East Indian tree, the branches of which drop shoots to the ground, that take root and support their parent branches; extending in this way, one tree will often cover a large expanse of ground. [Banian Tree, Banians’ Tree, Tree of the Banians, was originally a local appellation given by Europeans to an individual tree of this species growing near Gombroon on the Persian Gulf, under which the Banians, or Hindu traders settled in that port, had built a little pagoda; thence it was extended to others, and finally taken as the English name of the species. It is not so called in any Indian language]
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., II. (1638), 122. A Tree (or rather twenty Trees, the boughs rooting and springing up a whole aker together) … named by us the Bannyan Tree, from their adorning and adoring it with ribbons and streamers of varicoloured Taffata.
c. 1650. trans. Tavernier, I. 255. Near to the city of Ormus was a Bannians tree.
[1687. A. Lovell, Thevenot’s Trav., III. I. xiv. 25. The war-tree … called the tree of banians.]
1791. Newte, Tour Eng. & Scot., 416. The Banian tree of India, the most stupendous effort of vegetable nature.
1857. Livingstone, Trav., xii. 212. Most … send down roots from their branches like the banian.
1860. Gosse, Rom. Nat. Hist., 133. The banyan, or sacred fig of India.
