Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Prohibition

Prohibition , noun

[Latin prohibitio: compare French prohibition.]

1.
The act of prohibiting; a declaration or injunction forbidding some action; interdict.
The law of God, in the ten commandments, consists mostly of prohibitions. — Tillotson
2.
Specifically, the forbidding by law of the sale of alcoholic liquors as beverages.
Collocations (1)
Writ of prohibition (Law) , a writ issued by a superior tribunal, directed to an inferior court, commanding the latter to cease from the prosecution of a suit depending before it. — Blackstone

By ellipsis, prohibition is used for the writ itself.

Prohibition , noun

The period of 1920 to 1932 in the United States, during which sale of alcoholic beverages were forbidden by the consitution.