Definition of contraband

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< contra-

contrabass >

con·tra·band    (kntr-bnd) KEY 

NOUN:

1. Goods prohibited by law or treaty from being imported or exported.
2. 1. Illegal traffic in contraband; smuggling.
   2. Smuggled goods.
3. Goods that may be seized and confiscated by a belligerent if shipped to another belligerent by a neutral.
4. An escaped slave during the Civil War who fled to or was taken behind Union lines.

ADJECTIVE:

Prohibited from being imported or exported.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Italian contrabbando : contra-, against (from Latin contr-; see contra-) + bando, legal proclamation (from Late Latin bannus, of Germanic origin; see bh-² in Indo-European roots)

OTHER FORMS:
contra·bandage(Noun), contra·bandist(Noun)