contraband

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 11, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>contraband</strong> &#149; \KAHN-truh-band\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> illegal or prohibited traffic in goods <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smuggling">smuggling</a></p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> goods or merchandise whose importation, exportation, or possession is forbidden; <em>also</em> <strong>:</strong> smuggled goods</p> <p><strong>3 :</strong> a slave who during the American Civil War escaped to or was brought within the Union lines</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The officers searched the car for weapons, drugs, and other <em>contraband</em>.</p> <p>"Silk Road served as an online marketplace for drugs and other <em>contraband</em>, and the Justice Department has determined it generated more than $9.5 million in sales revenue before it was shut down in 2013." — <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/5/feds-seize-billion-dollars-worth-of-bitcoin-stolen/">Andrew Blake, <em>The Washington Times</em>, 5 Nov. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Contraband</em> first appeared in English in the early 1500s as a borrowing of Italian <em>contrabbando</em>. This Italian word can be traced to the Medieval Latin word <em>contrabannum</em>, a combination of <em>contra-</em> ("against") and <em>bannum</em> ("decree"). <em>Bannum</em> is Germanic in origin and is related to Old High German <em>bannan</em> ("to command"). <em>Bannan</em> is also related to Middle English <em>bannen</em> ("to summon or to curse"), the source of the English verb <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ban">ban</a></em>, which now means "to prohibit" but which once also meant "to curse."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>