Definition of bane

exculpate Definition: (verb) to free from blame or guilt. Petersons.com

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< bandy-legged

baneberry >

bane    (bn) KEY  

NOUN:

1. Fatal injury or ruin: "Hath some fond lover tic'd thee to thy bane?" (George Herbert).
2. 1. A cause of harm, ruin, or death: "Obedience,/Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,/Makes slaves of men" (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
   2. A source of persistent annoyance or exasperation: "The spellings of foreign names are often the bane of busy copy editors" (Norm Goldstein).
3. A deadly poison.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, destroyer, from Old English bana; see g^when- in Indo-European roots

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