banal

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Etymology

Borrowed from French banal (“held in common, relating to feudal service, by extension commonplace”), from Old French banel, related to Medieval Latin bannālis (“subject to feudal authority”), from Latin bannus (“jurisdiction”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to order, summon, forbid”). Equivalent to ban + -al. See also ban, abandon.

In classic literature

Synonyms

commonplace, hackneyed, old-hat, shopworn, stock, threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, well-worn

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