banyan

noun6

1. •
   A tropical Indian fig tree, Ficus benghalensis, that has many aerial roots.

   • We climb and then descend; we pass by the great banyan which, like Atlas, settling himself powerfully on his contorted haunches, seems awaiting with knee and shoulder the burden of the sky. — 1914
2. •
   Various other trees of the Ficus subgenus Urostigma, especially Ficus pertusa (Central American banyan) and Ficus microcarpa (Chinese banyan or Malayan banyan).
3. •
   (India, Pakistan) A vest; an undershirt; a singlet.

   • It was an honest letter, written by an honest man, then stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers. — 1889
4. •
   A type of loose gown worn in India.
5. •
   An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
6. •
   (slang, old-fashioned) A camping excursion on shore, to give a ship's crew a break from shipboard routine.