1. Fatal injury or ruin: “Hath some fond lover tic'd thee to thy bane?” (George Herbert). 2a. A cause of harm, ruin, or death: “Obedience,/Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,/Makes slaves of men” (Percy Bysshe Shelley). b. A source of persistent annoyance or exasperation: “The spellings of foreign names are often the bane of busy copy editors” (Norm Goldstein, Copy Editor June/July 1997). 3. A deadly poison.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, destroyer, from Old English bana. See gwhen- in Appendix I.
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