proscribere

Proscribere is a Latin verb of the third conjugation meaning to proscribe, to publish publicly as forbidden, or to condemn someone to punishment, often with confiscation of property or exile. The sense involves writing forth a public sentence or list banning a person or group. The related noun proscription denotes the act itself or the list produced.

In ancient Rome, proscriptions were formal, state-sanctioned lists of enemies of the state. Those named on a proscriptio could be killed with impunity and their property confiscated. Proscriptions were announced by magistrates or generals and were often posted in public places to maximize fear and political control. The best known example is the series of proscriptions during the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla (82–81 BCE), though the practice recurred under other leaders. The participants and the targeted individuals were referred to as proscrīptī or proscrīptī (as an adjective), while the act itself is called proscriptio.

Grammatically, proscribere yields proscribo, proscribis, proscribit in the present active; proscribebam or proscribēbam in the imperfect; proscripsi in the perfect; and proscriptum as the supine or passive participle proscriptional forms. The past participle is proscriptus, used in phrases like “proscriptus est” (he has been proscribed).

In English, proscribe means to forbid, outlaw, or condemn; proscription refers to the act, list, or period of proscribing. The term commonly evokes historical regimes or political persecution, but it also appears in modern usage to indicate a formal prohibition of an activity or organization.