bane

[beyn]

noun

1. a person or thing that ruins or spoils.

   Gambling was the bane of his existence.

2. a deadly poison (often used in combination, as in the names of poisonous plants).

   wolfsbane;

   henbane.

3. death; destruction; ruin.

4. Obsolete.,  that which causes death or destroys life.

   entrapped and drowned beneath the watery bane.

bane

¹

/ beɪn /

noun

1. a person or thing that causes misery or distress (esp in the phrase bane of one's life )

2. something that causes death or destruction

3. 1. a fatal poison

   2. ( in combination )

      ratsbane

4. archaic,  ruin or distress

bane

²

/ beɪn, ben /

noun

1. a Scot word for bone

Word History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bana “slayer”; cognate with Old Norse bani “death, murderer,” Old Frisian bona “murder,” Old Saxon bano “murderer,” Old High German bano “slayer,” bana “death”; akin to Armenian ǰnǰel “to destroy,” Greek theínein “to strike,” Latin -fendere “to strike,” Persian zahr “poison,” Polish gonić “to pursue,” Sanskrit hánti “to strike”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bane¹

Old English bana ; related to Old Norse bani death, Old High German bano destruction, death

Example Sentences

But with the improvement of cross-strait relations and economic links, many on Kinmen view their proximity to China as a boon, not a bane.

From BBC

Money was always the bane of our relationship.

From Los Angeles Times

One tune is a surprising almost-love-letter to a fixture that’s the bane of many Golden State warriors’ existence — and satirized aptly on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch “The Californians”: The 405 Freeway.

From Los Angeles Times

Back in 2020, I faced the bane of every writer’s existence: a blank page, in an empty notebook.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a bane of hikers, but botanists say the native plant plays an important role in the ecosystem.

From Los Angeles Times