Why this word is great
BANNS — [Noun] A public announcement, especially in a church, of an intended marriage, typically made on three successive Sundays to allow for any objections. From Middle English banes, a variant of bans, the plural of ban, from Old English bannan ("to summon, proclaim") and reinforced by Old French ban ("proclamation"), both from a Germanic root meaning "to speak publicly." Unlike a "proclamation," which heralds a general decree, or a "marriage announcement," which shares private news after the fact, banns are a formal, tripartite ritual of communal witness. They are the vicar’s measured voice cutting the dusty Sunday air, the rustle of a congregation shifting in pews, and the slow, liturgical drip of three weeks passing—a testament that every private union was once a matter of public record, and all joy must first pass through the gate of communal scrutiny.