Acts of forbidding or banning something by law or rule. The plural form of prohibition, referring to multiple instances of legal or formal restrictions.
From Latin 'prohibere' meaning 'to hold back' or 'prevent', composed of 'pro-' (before) and 'habere' (to hold). The word entered English through Old French in the 14th century, evolving from physical restraint to legal restriction.
The word 'prohibitions' carries the weight of human authority attempting to control behavior, most famously in the U.S. Prohibition era of the 1920s. Ironically, the Latin roots suggest physically 'holding before' something, as if creating a barrier, which perfectly captures how prohibitions often create the very barriers they're meant to enforce.
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