bandana

Forms

bandana f (plural bandanas)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from English bandanna, which Dalgado, quoted by Machado, considered the immediate source; the English word comes from Hindi बंधन (bandhan, “the act of binding, a bond”).^[2][1] The Academia's dictionary and the Porto Editora dictionary derive the Portuguese word instead from French bandana,^[3][4] and Wiktionary leaves the choice open between the English and the French word.^[1] The French word, however, is recorded only from 1984 and was itself taken from English.^[5]

The OED explains the Hindustani word as the name of a way of dyeing in which the cloth is tied up in several places so that those parts take no dye, and thinks the word was probably taken first into Portuguese.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest Portuguese record that Dalgado and Machado give is a list of the cloths of Bengal in Francisco de Sousa Coutinho's Breve e útil Idea (1779), where bandana stands beside chapa, sanas and sussins.^[7][2] There it is the name of a fabric traded from India.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The dictionaries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries define the word as a red handkerchief with white patterns, first made in India;^[8][9] Figueiredo treats it as masculine, Silva Bastos as feminine.^[8][9] The old Caldas Aulete adds that such handkerchiefs were made in India in former times.^[10] Michaelis still describes a large cotton or silk handkerchief, usually red or blue with simple white or yellow figures.^[11]

Today the word mostly names a square or triangular scarf folded and tied round the head, worn as an ornament; the Academia's dictionary marks it as a new entry.^[10][3][4]

Timeline

• 1752 – English bandannoes in a list of cloths of Bengal.^[6]
• 1779 – bandana in Francisco de Sousa Coutinho's list of Bengal cloths.^[7][2]
• 1899 – Figueiredo defines it as a red handkerchief with white designs, of Indian make.^[8]
• 1912 – Silva Bastos lists it as a feminine noun.^[9]
• 1984 – first record of French bandana.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A square or triangular kerchief folded into a band and tied round the head across the forehead, worn as an ornament: Prendeu o cabelo com uma bandana azul.^{[10][3][4][1]}
2. A large handkerchief of cotton or silk, usually red or blue with simple white or yellow figures, originally made in India.^[11][8]
3. (Brazil, regional) A pelego, the sheepskin laid over the saddle.^[12]

Related words

• English bandanna
• French bandana

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. bandana
3. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. bandana
4. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1245
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. bandana
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Dalgado, Sebastião Rodolfo (1919–1921), Glossário luso-asiático, 2 vols., Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, p. 1, 368
8. ^ a b c d Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. s.v. bandana
9. ^ a b c Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. bandana
10. ^ a b c Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. bandana
11. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. bandana
12. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. bandana