a moraceous tree, Ficus benghalensis, of tropical India and the East Indies, having aerial roots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks
2.
a member of the Hindu merchant caste of N and W India
3.
a loose-fitting shirt, jacket, or robe, worn originally in India
Word origin
C16: from Hindi baniyā, from Sanskrit vānija merchant
banyan in American English
(ˈbænjən)
noun
a widespread, tropical fig tree (Ficus benghalensis) that is native to India: shoots that grow from its branches take root and form new trunks over a relatively wide area
Word origin
so called in allusion to such a tree on the S Iranian coast at the E end of the PersianGulf, under which the banians (see banian2) had built a pagoda
Examples of 'banyan' in a sentence
banyan
Hold on, he would say at the sight of a banyan tree, I want to remember that.