What does banns mean?
Banns are public announcements of an intended marriage, traditionally read aloud during church services on three successive Sundays before the wedding takes place. Their purpose is practical as well as ceremonial: by proclaiming the couple's names to the community, the banns give anyone who knows of a lawful impediment — an existing marriage, a close blood relationship, or some other objection — the chance to come forward. The term is nearly always heard in the fixed phrase "banns of marriage", and the custom is especially associated with the Church of England and other Anglican churches, though similar practices exist in Roman Catholic and some Protestant traditions. Today, where civil registration has taken over the legal function, the reading of banns survives largely as a cherished tradition, lending weddings a sense of communal witness. The word itself derives from the same ancient root as "ban", reflecting its origin in formal public proclamation.
nounThe public announcement, typically read aloud in a church on successive Sundays, of an intended marriage between two named people, giving opportunity for anyone aware of an impediment to object. In modern usage the term almost always appears in the fixed phrase "banns of marriage".
- Public proclamation in church of an intended marriage, made on three successive Sundays so that objections to the union may be raised.
"The priest announced the banns of marriage for the third and final Sunday before the wedding."
"The vicar read the banns for Thomas Ellery and Margaret Shaw at morning service."
"Because the couple planned a civil ceremony abroad, publishing the banns was not required."
The word exists only as a plural noun; there is no distinct singular form in ordinary use, and it always refers collectively to the series of marriage announcements.
"The banns were published on three consecutive Sundays before the wedding."
For centuries, if you wanted to marry in church, your engagement had to be shouted to the congregation three Sundays running — so that anyone with a reason to stop the wedding could speak up.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of banns
Banns comes from the Old Norse word "bann", meaning proclamation or edict, which entered English through medieval ecclesiastical usage; the plural form reflects the fact that the announcement was repeated across multiple Sundays. It shares its Germanic root with the word "ban" and, more distantly, with Romance borrowings such as "bandit" and "contraband", which trace back through Italian forms of proclamation and outlawry. The practice of publishing marriage banns was formalised in medieval canon law and became standard in England after the Reformation.
How banns is actually used
Almost always encountered in the plural form as part of the phrase "banns of marriage"; there is no separate singular form in common use. The practice is chiefly associated with Anglican and other Christian traditions, especially in Britain and Commonwealth countries, and is largely ceremonial today where legal notice requirements have moved elsewhere. Register is formal and ecclesiastical.
Easily confused with banns
"Bans" are prohibitions or formal orders forbidding something, whereas "banns" are public proclamations announcing an intended marriage.