What does banted mean?
"Banted" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "bant," meaning to have dieted — specifically to have followed a low-carbohydrate regimen in order to lose weight. The word derives from William Banting, a nineteenth-century London undertaker whose widely read 1863 pamphlet on weight loss made his surname synonymous with slimming; to "bant" was once common shorthand in Britain for going on such a diet. Today the term survives most actively in South African English, where "banting" describes popular low-carbohydrate eating plans, while elsewhere it reads as a historical or regional curiosity. Because it is easily mistaken for "bantered," writers should use it with care. Its enduring charm lies in being one of the few everyday verbs named after an ordinary person's successful diet.
verbPast tense and past participle of "bant": to have followed a low-carbohydrate weight-loss diet, or more generally to have dieted in order to lose weight.
- To have followed a low-carbohydrate reducing diet (after William Banting); to have dieted in order to lose weight.
"After banting for six months, he had lost nearly two stone."
"She banted steadily through the winter and felt better for it by spring."
"His doctor suggested he bant rather than attempt anything more drastic."
"Bant" comes from a real Victorian undertaker — William Banting — who became so famous for losing weight that his surname turned into a verb.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of banted
The word traces to William Banting (1796–1878), a London undertaker who publicized his successful low-carbohydrate weight-loss regimen in the 1863 pamphlet "Letter on Corpulence." His name quickly became attached to the practice itself, giving rise to "Bantingism," the noun "banting," and the verb "bant," whose past tense is "banted." The usage spread throughout the British Empire and remains current in South African English, though it has largely fallen out of use elsewhere.
Related word forms
How banted is actually used
The verb "bant" and its inflected form "banted" are now chiefly found in South African English, where banting remains a popular term for low-carbohydrate diets. Elsewhere the word is largely historical, associated with Victorian and early twentieth-century accounts of weight reduction.
Easily confused with banted
"Bantered" is the past tense of banter, meaning exchanged playful teasing remarks, whereas "banted" refers to having dieted to lose weight.