bandana

Etymology

It is a borrowing from Hindi, probably through Portuguese bandana,^[2][3][4][5] from the Hindi name of a way of tie-dyeing cloth and of cloth dyed that way,^[6][7][3] from बाँधना (bā̃dhnā, “to tie”),^[7][5][8] from Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnāti, “he ties, binds”),^[7][8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind”).^[10][5] The cloth was tied in several places so that those parts did not take the dye, leaving pale spots.^[11][12][13] It is thus related to bind.^[6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A coloured handkerchief with white or pale spots: 1730, in a list of goods from the Bay of Bengal.^[6] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1741,^[7] and Barnhart and Etymonline to 1752.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

Weekley and Dictionary.com record an earlier form bandanno.^[14][15] Hobson-Jobson applies the word properly to a rich yellow or red silk handkerchief with diamond spots left white,^[11] and Etymonline notes that the colours and spots are what make a bandanna.^[10] Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories notes that the link with Indian tie-dyeing has been all but lost, and the name is now given to any such large handkerchief, even a plain one, worn on the head or round the neck.^[12]

Timeline

• 1730 – a spotted handkerchief from India.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large, brightly coloured handkerchief or kerchief, usually with a pattern of white or pale spots or figures, worn on the head or around the neck.^[8][7][6][3]

Related words

• bind
• band

Usage notes

It is spelled both bandana and bandanna;^[7][8] Merriam-Webster gives bandanna first.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b Yule, Henry; Burnell, A. C. (1903), Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, new ed. by William Crooke, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
13. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
15. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House