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Definition of proscribe - 5 dictionary results

pro⋅scribe

  [proh-skrahyb]
Use proscribe in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -scribed, -scrib⋅ing.
1. to denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.
2. to put outside the protection of the law; outlaw.
3. to banish or exile.
4. to announce the name of (a person) as condemned to death and subject to confiscation of property.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L prōscrībere to publish in writing, confiscate, outlaw. See pro- 1 , prescribe

Related forms:
pro⋅scrib⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pro⋅scrib⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. censure, disapprove, repudiate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·scribe   (prō-skrīb')   
tr.v.   pro·scribed, pro·scrib·ing, pro·scribes
  1. To denounce or condemn.
  2. To prohibit; forbid. See Synonyms at forbid.
    1. To banish or outlaw (a person).
    2. To publish the name of (a person) as outlawed.

[Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībere, to put up someone's name as outlawed : prō-, in front; see pro-1 + scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in Indo-European roots.]
pro·scrib'er 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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Proscribe

Pro*scribe"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Proscribed; p. pr. & vb. n. Proscribing.] [L. proscribere, proscriptum, to write before, to publish, proscribe; pro before + scribere to write. See Scribe. The sense of this word originated in the Roman practice of writing the names of persons doomed to death, and posting the list in public.]

1. To doom to destruction; to put out of the protection of law; to outlaw; to exile; as, Sylla and Marius proscribed each other's adherents.

Robert Vere, Earl of Oxford, . . . was banished the realm, and proscribed. --Spenser.

2. To denounce and condemn; to interdict; to prohibit; as, the Puritans proscribed theaters.

The Arian doctrines were proscribed and anathematized in the famous Council of Nice. --Waterland.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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proscribe 
1387 (implied in proscription) "decree of condemnation, outlawry," from L. proscribere "publish in writing" (lit. "write in front of"), including senses of "publish as having forfeited one's property, condemn, outlaw before the world," from pro- "before" + scribere "to write" (see script). Meaning "prohibit as wrong or dangerous" first recorded 1622.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pro·scribe
Pronunciation: prO-'skrIb
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pro·scribed; pro·scrib·ing
Etymology: Latin proscribere to publish, proscribe, from pro- before + scribere to write
: to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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