Proscribed

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Robert Vere, Earl of Oxford, . . . was banished the
              realm, and proscribed.                --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To denounce and condemn; to interdict; to prohibit; as,
        the Puritans proscribed theaters.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The Arian doctrines were proscribed and
              anathematized in the famous Council of Nice.
                                                    --Waterland.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  proscribed
       adj : excluded from use or mention; "forbidden fruit"; "in our
             house dancing and playing cards were out"; "a taboo
             subject" [syn: {forbidden}, {out(p)}, {prohibited}, {taboo},
              {tabu}, {verboten}]

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  PROSCRIBED, civil law. Among the Romans, a man was said to be proscribed 
  when a reward was offered for his head; but the term was more usually 
  applied to those who were sentenced to some punishment which carried with it 
  the consequences of civil death. Code, 9; 49.