E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Banian Dàys [Ban-yan].
Days when no meat is served to a ship’s crew. The term is derived from the Banians, a class of Hindu merchants, who carried on a most extensive trade with the interior of Asia, but being a caste of the Vaisya, abstained from the use of meat. (Sanskrit, banij, a merchant.)
