bandwagon

Etymology

It is formed from English band + wagon,^[2][3][4][5] in American English.^[3][5] The band is a company of musicians.^[3][5] Early spellings were “band wagon” and “band-wagon”.^[3][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A large wagon, especially one that could carry a band of musicians in a parade, a political campaign or a travelling circus: 1836, in the Boston Morning Post.^[2] Tréguer found a circus band-wagon able to hold twenty musicians in a New Orleans paper of February 1847,^[7] and Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1849,^[3][4] when the American Quarterly reported a circus troupe headed by its four-horse band wagon.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Bandwagons led circus parades through the main street of a town to advertise the show's arrival;^[6] P. T. Barnum mentioned the circus's “band wagon” in his autobiography of 1855.^[6][8] They also took part in Fourth of July parades and in political processions,^[7] and as they figured in the celebrations of successful political campaigns, being on the bandwagon came to mean attaching oneself to whatever looks likely to succeed.^[3] The OED records the figurative sense, a party, belief or trend seen as increasingly successful or popular, from 1880,^[2] and Tréguer's earliest political use is from the New York Times of 11 May 1880.^[7] The phrase to jump on the bandwagon follows in 1883,^[2] and Etymonline finds it in Theodore Roosevelt's writings by 1899.^[3] According to Flavell, the candidate rode on the wagon with the band, and the people who climbed on to show their allegiance included some looking for a reward if he won;^[9] Wilton notes that the phrase is mildly derisive, used of people who join only when success is near.^[6] Flavell adds that the British radio comedy Band Waggon (1938–39) helped make the word familiar.^[9] The noun became a verb in 1898, at first meaning to ride in a bandwagon; since 1915 it has meant to join a promising or popular cause.^[2] In American tramps' slang of 1915 a bandwagon was also a police van.^[10]

Timeline

• 1836 – a large wagon, especially one carrying a band in a parade, campaign or circus.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1849.^[3][4]
• 1855 – P. T. Barnum's “band wagon”, in his autobiography.^[6][8]
• 1880 – a party, cause or trend that attracts growing support.^[2][7]
• 1883 – to jump on the bandwagon.^[2]
• 1898 – verb, to ride in a bandwagon (obsolete by 1916).^[2]
• 1915 – verb, to join others in supporting a popular cause.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cause, party or trend that attracts more and more supporters, often because it seems likely to succeed: the electric-car bandwagon.^[4][2][11]
2. jump (or climb) on the bandwagon: to join others in supporting something that seems popular or successful, often for one's own advantage.^[2][9][8]
3. A large, often ornate wagon carrying a band of musicians in a parade, especially of a circus.^[4][11][2]

Verb

1. To join others in supporting a cause or movement that seems promising or popular.^[2]

Word family

• bandwagoning

Related words

• band
• wagon

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f Wilton, Dave, Wordorigins.org, wordorigins.org, p. "Bandwagon, jump on the", 15 May 2020
7. ^ a b c d e Tréguer, Pascal, Word Histories, wordhistories.net, p. "Origin of ‘to jump on the bandwagon’", 22 January 2018
8. ^ a b c Martin, Gary, The Phrase Finder: Meaning and Origin of Phrases, Sayings, Clichés and Quotes, https://www.phrases.org.uk
9. ^ a b c Flavell, Linda; Flavell, Roger (1992), Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins, London: Kyle Cathie
10. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin