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band¹

(bănd)

1. A thin strip of flexible material used to encircle and bind one object or to hold a number of objects together: a metal band around the bale of cotton.

2. A strip or stripe that contrasts with something else in color, texture, or material.

3. A narrow strip of fabric used to trim, finish, or reinforce articles of clothing.

4. Something that constrains or binds morally or legally: the bands of marriage and family.

5. A simple ring, especially a wedding ring.

a. A neckband or collar.

b. bands The two strips hanging from the front of a collar as part of the dress of certain clerics, scholars, and lawyers.

c. A high collar popular in the 1500s and 1600s.

a. Biology A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism.

b. Anatomy A cordlike tissue that connects or holds structures together.

8. Physics

a. A specific range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.

b. A range of very closely spaced electron energy levels in solids, the distribution and nature of which determine the electrical properties of a material.

9. Any of the distinct grooves on a long-playing phonograph record that contains an individual selection or a separate section of a whole.

10. A cord or strip across the back of a book to which the sheets or quires are attached.

tr.v. band·ed, band·ing, bands

1. To tie, bind, or encircle with or as if with a band.

2. To mark or identify with a band: a program to band migrating birds.

[Middle English bende (from Old English bend and from Old French bande, bende, of Germanic origin) and Middle English bond, band (from Old Norse, band; see bhendh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

band²

(bănd)

a. A group of people: a band of outlaws.

b. A group of animals.

a. Anthropology A unit of social organization especially among hunter-gatherers, consisting of a usually small number of families living together cooperatively.

b. Canadian An aboriginal group officially recognized as an organized unit by the Canadian government. See Usage Note at First Nation.

3. A group of musicians who perform as an ensemble.

v. band·ed, band·ing, bands

v. tr.

To assemble or unite in a group.

v. intr.

To form a group; unite: banded together for protection.

[Early Modern English, from Middle French, troop identified by its standard, ultimately (probably via Old Provençal) from *banda, plural of Medieval Latin bandum, military standard, banner, of Germanic origin; see bhā-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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