banyan Meaning, Definition & Usage
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noun East Indian tree that puts out aerial shoots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks
East Indian fig tree; Indian banyan; banyan tree; banian tree; banian; Ficus bengalensis.
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noun a loose fitting jacket; originally worn in India
banian.
WordNet
Ban"yan noun
Etymology
SeeDefinitions
(Bot.) A tree of the same genus as the common fig, and called the Indian fig ( Ficus Indica ), whose branches send shoots to the ground, which take root and become additional trunks, until it may be the tree covers some acres of ground and is able to shelter thousands of men.