band
/bænd/ noun, verb, proper noun
- noun A strip of material wrapped around things to hold them together.
- noun A narrow strip of cloth or other material on clothing, to bind, strengthen, or ornament it.
- noun A strip along the spine of a book where the pages are attached.
- noun A belt or strap that is part of a machine.
- noun A long strip of material, color, etc, that is different from the surrounding area. “sandstone with bands of shale”
- noun A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as of carved foliage, of colour, or of brickwork.
- noun In Gothic architecture, the moulding, or suite of mouldings, which encircles the pillars and small shafts.
- noun That which serves as the means of union or connection between persons; a tie.
- verb (transitive) To fasten with a band.
- verb (transitive, ornithology) To fasten an identifying band around the leg of (a bird).
- noun A group of musicians who perform together as an ensemble; sometimes, such a group working for a professional recording artist. “musical band”
- noun A type of orchestra originally playing janissary music; an instance of this type.
- noun A group of people loosely united for a common purpose, such as a band of thieves.
- noun (anthropology) A small group of people living in a simple society, contrasted with tribes, chiefdoms, and nations.
- verb (intransitive) To group together for a common purpose; to confederate.
- verb (transitive, education) To group (students) together by perceived ability; to stream.
- proper noun A surname from German.
Synonyms
frequency band radio band set circle lot banding stria striation stripe dance band dance orchestra isthmus ring
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English band (also bond), from Old English beand, bænd, bend (“bond, chain, fetter, band, ribbon, ornament, chaplet, crown”), from Proto-Germanic *bandą, *bandiz (“band, fetter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”). Middle English band reinforced by Old French bande.
Cognate with Dutch band, German Band, Danish bånd, Swedish band, Icelandic band (“band”). Related to bond, bind, bend.
Derived from Middle English band, from Old French bande, from Old Occitan banda (“regiment of troops”), perhaps from Frankish *bend, from Proto-Germanic *bandiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Compare German Bande (“band”).
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
* English, German and Jewish surname, from the noun Band (“hoop, metal ring”).
* Also as an English surname, variant of Bond.
* Also as a German surname, pet from of Bernhard.
* As a Dutch surname, from the place name (die) Bant.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A fillet, strap, or any narrow ligament with which a thing is encircled, or fastened, or by which a number of things are tied, bound together, or confined; a fetter.
- noun (a) A continuous tablet, stripe, or series of ornaments, as of carved foliage, of color, or of brickwork, etc. (b) In Gothic architecture, the molding, or suite of moldings, which encircles the pillars and small shafts.
- verb To bind or tie with a band.
- verb To mark with a band.
Etymology [OE. band, bond, Icel. band; akin to G., Sw., & D. band, OHG. bant, Goth. banti, Skr. bandha a binding, bandh to bind, for bhanda, bhandh, also to E. bend, bind. In sense 7, at least, it is fr. F. bande, from OHG. bant. Bind, v. t., and cf. Bend, Bond, 1st Bandy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “band”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details