contraband
密輸品
解説 Definition
違法に国境を越えて運ばれた品物。密輸された、禁止または規制されている商品。
Contraband means goods that are illegal to carry, sell, or bring into a country or place. The word is often used for smuggled items such as drugs, weapons, or banned products. It usually appears in law, customs, or crime-related contexts.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
まず ban=禁止 を核に覚える。contra- は「反対・逆らう」で、contraband は『禁止に逆らって動く物』と見ると定着しやすい。単なる違法品ではなく、税関・国境・刑務所など「持ち込み禁止の場所へ運ばれる物」の絵で覚えると強い。文脈は smuggle/carry contraband, contraband drugs/cigarettes。counterfeit は偽造品だが、contraband は本物でも持ち込み自体が違法、という違いに注意。
Notice the core word `ban`. `Contra-` often means against, so `contraband` is something that goes against a ban. Picture customs officers stopping hidden cigarettes or drugs at a border. Also remember the contrast: `counterfeit` is fake, but `contraband` can be real and still illegal to carry.
例文
Customs officers discovered contraband hidden in the luggage at the airport.
税関職員は空港で、荷物の中に隠された密輸品を発見した。
Smuggling contraband across borders is a serious federal crime.
密輸品を国境を越えて運ぶことは重大な連邦犯罪である。
The ship was seized because it was carrying contraband.
その船は密輸品を運んでいたため、押収された。
contraband の類義語・関連語
contraband の語源・成り立ち Etymology
contraband はイタリア語・フランス語を経て、中世ラテン語 contrabannum に由来します。contra-「反して」+ bannum「布告・命令」なので、原義は「お触れに逆らうもの」で、そこから「密輸品」になりました。関連語に ban, banish があります。
Contraband came into English through Italian and French from Medieval Latin contrabannum. It combines contra-, meaning "against," and bannum, meaning a proclamation or order. The original sense was something "against an official ban," which later became the modern idea of illegally traded goods. Related English words include ban and banish.
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