This word comes from the Tongan word "tabu". The meanings given in
the OED are as follows: set apart for or consecrated to a special use or
purpose; restricted to the use of a god, a king, priests, or chiefs, while
forbidden to general use; prohibited to a particular class (esp. to women),
or to a particular person or persons; inviolable, sacred; forbidden, unlawful;
also said of persons under a temporary prohibition from certain actions,
from food, or from contact with others.
The word is often used in a transferred or metaphorical sense, as here.
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