Banal


devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite:
a banal and sophomoric treatment of courage on the frontier.
adjective
lacking force or originality; trite; commonplace
adjective

pertaining to a lord or ruler (banat) in Hungary, Croatia, and thereabouts
Word Origin

Serbo-Croatian ban ‘lord, ruler’
adj.

“trite, commonplace,” 1840, from French banal, “belonging to a manor, common, hackneyed, commonplace,” from Old French banel “communal” (13c.), from ban “decree; legal control; announcement; authorization; payment for use of a communal oven, mill, etc.” (see ban (v.)). The modern sense evolved from the word’s use in designating things like ovens or mills that belonged to feudal serfs, or else compulsory military service; in either case it was generalized in French through “open to everyone” to “commonplace, ordinary,” to “trite, petty.”

Read Also:

  • Banalise

    to render or make banal; trivialize: Television has often been accused of banalizing even the most serious subjects.

  • Banalize

    to render or make banal; trivialize: Television has often been accused of banalizing even the most serious subjects.

  • Banalities

    the condition or quality of being banal, or devoid of freshness or originality: the banality of everyday life. an instance of this: We sat around the dinner table exchanging banalities. n. 1861, triteness, from French banalité “banality, commonplace,” from banal (see banal).

  • Banality

    the condition or quality of being banal, or devoid of freshness or originality: the banality of everyday life. an instance of this: We sat around the dinner table exchanging banalities. n. 1861, triteness, from French banalité “banality, commonplace,” from banal (see banal).

  • Banalized

    to render or make banal; trivialize: Television has often been accused of banalizing even the most serious subjects.


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