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contraband

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con⋅tra⋅band

  [kon-truh-band]
–noun
1. anything prohibited by law from being imported or exported.
2. goods imported or exported illegally.
3. illegal or prohibited trade; smuggling.
4. International Law. contraband of war.
5. (during the American Civil War) a black slave who escaped to or was brought within the Union lines.
–adjective
6. prohibited from export or import.
Use contraband in a Sentence
Origin:
1520–30; earlier contrabanda < Sp < It contrabando (now contrabbando), equiv. to contra- contra-1 + ML bandum, var. of bannum ban 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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con·tra·band   (kŏn'trə-bānd')   
n.  

  1. Goods prohibited by law or treaty from being imported or exported.

    1. Illegal traffic in contraband; smuggling.

    2. Smuggled goods.

  3. Goods that may be seized and confiscated by a belligerent if shipped to another belligerent by a neutral.

  4. An escaped slave during the Civil War who fled to or was taken behind Union lines.

adj.  Prohibited from being imported or exported.

[Italian contrabbando : contra-, against (from Latin contrā-; see contra-) + bando, legal proclamation (from Late Latin bannus, of Germanic origin; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots).]
con'tra·band'age n., con'tra·band'ist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

contraband

Goods illegally transported across borders to avoid the payment of taxes.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

contraband 
1529, from M.Fr. contrebande "a smuggling," from It. contrabando, from L. contra "against" + M.L. bannum, from Frank. *ban "a command" (see ban).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: con·tra·band
Pronunciation: 'kän-tr&-"band
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian contrabbando act of smuggling, from contra- against + bando edict, law
: property that is unlawfully produced, possessed, or transported
contraband per se
: property that is in and of itself unlawful to possess, produce, or transport
derivative contraband
: property that is unlawful because it is used in committing an unlawful act
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

contraband

in the laws of war, goods that may not be shipped to a belligerent because they serve a military purpose.

Learn more about contraband with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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