prohibition

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman and Old French prohibicion, from Latin prohibitiō.

noun

1. An act of prohibiting, forbidding, disallowing, or proscribing something.
2. A law prohibiting the manufacture or sale of alcohol.
   First, some persons might consider my advocacy of prohibition rather odd for a congressman coming from the state which produces the finest bourbon whiskey in the world. While this is true, it is also true that prior to the Eighteenth Amendment a large majority of the counties of Kentucky had voted against the sale of liquor under what was known as the county unit plan. Since repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment a substantial majority of Kentucky counties have voted under local option to outlaw liquor. My stand on the question, first in voting for the submission of the Eighteenth Amendment, and later for an amendment to appeal it, was a matter of principle and not of expediency. 1954, Alben W. Barkley, That Reminds Me, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 42
3. A period of time when specific socially disapproved consumables are considered controlled substances.