contraband

Meanings

Noun

• Any goods which are illicit or illegal to possess.
• Goods which are prohibited from being traded, smuggled goods.
• A black slave during the American Civil War who had escaped to, or been captured by, Union forces.

Adjective

• prohibited from being traded

Verb

• To import illegally; to smuggle.
• To declare prohibited; to forbid.

Origin

• From Spanish contrabanda (modern spelling contrabando), from Italian contrabando (modern spelling contrabbando), from contra + bando, and reinforced by French contrebande.