mourning band

American  

noun

1. a piece of black cloth that is worn, especially as a band encircling the upper arm, to indicate mourning.

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mourning band British  

noun

1. a piece of black material, esp an armband, worn to indicate that the wearer is in mourning

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Etymology

Origin of mourning band

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

Pershing, wearing a dark mourning band on one sleeve, and Harding, wearing a top hat, walked side by side behind the caisson.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 10, 2021

It was a simple silk stovepipe piece, size 7 ⅛, adorned with a three-inch-high silk mourning band, which Lincoln wore in memory of his son Willie.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2018

The wide mourning band around the crown, which Lincoln added to honor his son, Willie, was still there, a symbol of solidarity with others who had lost sons.

From Washington Post

Wearing the traditional red mourning band of Ghana around their heads, the students gathered before the Ghana embassy on a street a mile from Red Square.

From Time Magazine Archive

His tie was solid black, and on the sleeve of his gray coat there was the mourning band that he had sewn there.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers