discommon

A university official discommons the public green to prevent vendors from selling to students.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To deprive of common rights: "discommon" refers to the act of removing or restricting a person or group's right to use common land, especially by enclosing or fencing it off.
   • To prohibit from selling to students: In historical academic contexts, "discommon" means to forbid a tradesperson from selling goods to students at a university, often as a disciplinary measure.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The landowner decided to discommon the village's grazing fields. (The owner enclosed the fields, taking away the villagers' right to use them.)
  • The university authorities discommoned the baker for overcharging students. (The baker was barred from selling to students as a punishment.)

Advanced Usage

• "to discommon a common": a formal legal process in British law to convert common land into private property.
  • The lord of the manor sought to discommon the heath for agricultural expansion. (He legally enclosed the common land.)

Variants and Related Words

• Discommons (verb): an alternative spelling of "discommon."
  • The college discommonsed the tavern keeper after repeated complaints. (The tavern was banned from serving students.)

Synonyms

• Enclose: to surround or seal off land, restricting access.
• Prohibit: to formally forbid something or someone from engaging in an activity.

Phrasal Verbs

• None commonly associated with "discommon."

Related Idioms

• "To be discommoned": to lose the privilege of selling to a specific group (historical university usage).
  • The bookseller was discommoned for distributing prohibited texts. (He was banned from selling to students.)