noun
definition
An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
definition
(in Polynesia) Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.
verb
definition
To mark as taboo.
definition
To ban.
definition
To avoid.
Examples of tabu in a Sentence
In the Micronesian Islands, while animism and tabu were strong, there was not the cannibalism of the southern islands.
Thus the Mintra of the Malay Peninsula have a demon corresponding to every kind of disease known to them; the Tasmanian ascribed a gnawing pain to the presence within him of the soul of a dead man, whom he had unwittingly summoned by mentioning his name and who was `devouring his liver; the Samoan held that the violation of a food tabu would result in the animal being formed within the body of the offender and cause his death.
The chief towns on the coast are Grand and Little Bassam, Jackville and Assini in the east and Grand Lahou, Sassandra and Tabu in the west.
Polygamy prevailed among the chiefs and rulers, and women were subject to all the humiliations of the tabu system, which subjected them to many privations, and kept them socially in a condition of inferiority to the other sex.
In its ancient stories were remnants of primitive religion, of tabu, of anthropomorphic gods, of native forms of worship, of magic and divination, of local and tribal cults.
Sometimes, indeed, such contact with deity is thought to be dangerous, and the rites indicate avoidance (tabu), and sometimes it is thought desirable.
However, the Negroid tribes are more and more adopting the customs and mode of life of the Hova, among whom are found pile-houses, the sarong, f adi or tabu applied to food, a non-African form of bellows, &c., all characteristic of their original home.
Our theoretical research and the use of tabu search approach to the problem can be found in [5 ].
The tabu algorithm is a powerful optimization tool that allows the search process to escape from local optima whilst avoiding cyclical behavior.
A tabu list of heuristics is also maintained which prevents certain heuristics from being chosen at certain times during the search.
The basic tabu version is better but becomes less reliable for over 150 regions.