See Also: taboo(medicine)
taboo(1)(dictionary)
taboo(2)(dictionary)
taboo(encyclopedia)
taboo 1, adjective(dictionary)
taboo 2, noun(dictionary)

taboo(1) (iou)



taboo adjective & noun. . L18.
[Tongan tabu.]
A. adjective.
Set apart for or consecrated to a special use or purpose; forbidden to general use or to a particular person or class of people; inviolable, sacred; forbidden, unlawful. Also, (of a person) prohibited from food or from certain actions. L18.
transf. & fig. Esp. of a word, topic, or activity: avoided or prohibited, esp. by social custom. E19.
Times In the bedroom it is allowed; in the bathroom it is taboo. Mother & Baby Ski-ing and hang-gliding are absolutely taboo during pregnancy.
b. noun.
The putting of a person or thing under temporary or permanent prohibition or interdict, esp. as a social custom; the fact or condition of being taboo; a customary prohibition or interdict. Also, the system or custom, esp. in certain societies, by which such prohibitions occur. L18.
A. Storr A totem..is protected by taboos which generally forbid..even touching it.
transf. & fig. Prohibition or interdiction of the use or practice of anything; ostracism; spec. a prohibition of the use of certain words, topics, etc., esp. in social conversation. M19.
A. Stevens The repressive taboo which rendered all sexual experience unspeakable.
? Orig. a social practice of various Pacific islands, as New Zealand, Melanesia, Polynesia, etc.
tabooism noun a system of taboo L19.