banj

Noun

banj (uncountable)

1. (historical, Islamic countries) Hashish or henbane.
   • Physicians and scientists appear to have been by and large consistent in their use of banj for henbane. 'AH b. Rabban at-Tabari, in the middle of the ninth century, speaks of three kinds of banj, of which the white one was in use, apparently referring to henbane.1971, Franz Rosenthal, زهر العريش في احكام الحشيش: Haschish Versus Medieval Muslim Society, Brill Archive, page 20
   • Drugs feature in the Nights and other specimens of popular fiction in two contexts . First, banj (either henbane or hashish) and opium are rather naïvely called upon by the storyteller as a kind of Mickey Finn, or early form of chloroform, available for the use of villains.2003, Robert Irwin, The Arabian Nights: A Companion, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, →ISBN
2. (countable) Quercus leucotrichophora, a type of oak.
   • Whereas when they pass down slowly deep into the soil, they replenish the springs and river sources which are of such vital importance to agriculture in the dry season But why are the Banj forests disappearing so fast?1992, Krishna Murti Gupta, Mirabehn, Mira Behn, Gandhiji's Daughter Disciple: Birth Centenary Volume
   • While chir pine had better growth yield than banj oak. the dry mass in both the species increased with the increasing nutrient and moisture status of soil. Response breadth values were wider for chir pine than banj oak on each of the nutrient and moisture gradient.1993, Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy: Biological sciences