Definition of "banns" [banns]

• An announcement, especially in a church, of an intended marriage. (noun-plural)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So Little John clambered awkwardly into the quire, his short gown fluttering gaily; and he called the banns for the marriage of the maid and Allan-a-Dale once, twice, and thrice."
• "'I called their banns, and in due time married them."
• "So saying, he called the banns; and, says the old ballad, lest three times should not be enough, he published them nine times o'er."