Formally forbidding or banning something by law, rule, or authority; preventing or making impossible.
From Latin prohibere, composed of pro- 'before' and habere 'to have' or 'to hold'. The original sense was 'to hold before' as a barrier, evolving to mean preventing or forbidding.
The Latin roots of 'prohibiting' create a vivid image - it literally means 'holding something in front' like a barrier or shield. This physical metaphor perfectly captures how prohibitions work: they place obstacles between people and forbidden actions!
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