tabou

taboo

noun adjective tah-BOO Rare

Origin: from Tongan tabu (forbidden), introduced to French via English

Also means

forbidden subject

Usage Note

Tabou entered French from English, which had borrowed it from Pacific-island languages via Captain Cook's voyages. As a noun it means a social prohibition; as an adjective it means 'forbidden' (un sujet tabou) and commonly agrees in the plural (des sujets tabous). The related verb is the expression briser un tabou, to break a taboo.

Examples

"La mort reste un tabou dans certaines cultures."

Natural Translation

Death remains a taboo in certain cultures.

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