bandanna
or ban·dan·a
[ban-dan-uh]
- a large, printed handkerchief, typically one with white spots or figures on a red or blue background.
- any large scarf for the neck or head.
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Origin of bandanna
1745–55; earlier bandanno (second syllable unstressed) < Hindi bā̃dhnū tie dyeing
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bandana
Contemporary Examples
His face was partially obscured by a bandana and a baseball cap, from beneath which his long ponytail hung limply.
Well, he does a reggae rap while wearing a bandana on his head.
It’s Been 20 Years Since Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling Joined the Mickey Mouse ClubKevin Fallon
November 15, 2013
He makes frequent appearances on television, usually wearing aviator shades and a bandana to disguise his identity.
Historical Examples
A bandana was tied across his eyes, and the men led him into the pocket of rock.
Oh, You Tex!William Macleod Raine
He wiped away with the bandana, thinking that thus he concealed his emotions.
TerryCharles Goff Thomson
His rough hair was braided into a queue and tied back with a bandana.
Strange Stories of the Great RiverAbbie Johnston Grosvenor
He, too, was very pale, and every now and then he wiped his face with a bandana handkerchief.
Within the CapesHoward Pyle
While it was forthcoming he toyed furtively with his bandana.
Atlantic ClassicsVarious
bandanna
bandana
- a large silk or cotton handkerchief or neckerchief
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Word Origin
C18: from Hindi bāndhnū tie-dyeing, from bāndhnā to tie, from Sanskrit bandhnāti he ties
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bandana
n.
also often bandanna, 1752, from Hindi bandhnu, a method of dyeing, from Sanskrit badhnati "binds" (because the cloth is tied like modern tie-dye), from same PIE root as band (n.1). Etymologically, the colors and spots are what makes it a bandana.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper