bandana

See also: bandaną

English

girl wearing a Portugal bandana

Alternative forms

• bandanna
• bandanno
• bandannoe (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi बंधन (bandhan, “the act of binding, a bond”), from Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnāti, “he binds”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, bond”). Related to Hindi बाँधना (bāndhnā, “to tie”). Doublet of bind.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /bænˈdæn.ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænə
• Hyphenation: ban‧dan‧a

Noun

bandana (plural bandanas)

1. A large kerchief, usually colourful and used either as headgear or as a handkerchief, neckerchief, bikini, or sweatband.
   • 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Knife, page 123:

     Neighbours now came hurrying in, and one after another missed some trifling article of property which the deceased was known to have possessed. There were three thin spoons, real silver, on which she greatly prided herself; they were gone. A large silver watch, together with a red silk shawl and a Bandana handkerchief, very regular parts of her Sunday attire, were also not to be found.

   • 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 126:

     One cure for a headache involved binding the stalk of the herb crosswort to the head with a red bandana[.]

2. A style of calico printing, in which white or bright spots are produced upon cloth previously dyed a uniform red or dark colour, by discharging portions of the color by chemical means, while the rest of the cloth is under pressure.

Derived terms

• bandana code
• bandanaed
• bandana of the Everglades
• bandana thrash

Descendants

• → Afrikaans: bandana
• → Cornish: bandana
• → Indonesian: bandana
• → Italian: bandana
• → Japanese: バンダナ (bandana)
• → Polish: bandana
• → Portuguese: bandana
• → Russian: бандана (bandana)

Translations

large kerchief

• Afrikaans: bandana, groot sakdoek
• Arabic: عِصَابَة f (ʕiṣāba), عِصَابَةُ رَأْس f (ʕiṣābatu raʔs)
• Bulgarian: голяма цветна носна кърпа (goljama cvetna nosna kărpa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頭巾 / 头巾 (zh) (tóujīn), 大手帕 (dàshǒupà), (elegant, feminine) 印花絲巾 / 印花丝巾 (yìnhuā sījīn)

• Czech: šátek (cs) m
• Finnish: huivi (fi), päähuivi (fi)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Piratenkopftuch n, Piratentuch n, Halstuch (de) n, Kopftuch (de) n
• Indonesian: bandana
• Japanese: バンダナ (ja) (bandana)
• Korean: 밴대나 (baendaena)
• Navajo: zéédéełtsooz
• Polish: bandana (pl) f
• Portuguese: bandana f
• Russian: банда́на (ru) f (bandána)
• Spanish: pañoleta (es) f, pañuelo (es) m, paliacate m, toquilla f (small), fular (es) m
• Turkish: bandana (tr)
• Welsh: bandana (cy) m

See also

• bandana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Afrikaans

Etymology

From English bandana, borrowed from Hindi बन्धन (bandhan, “he ties”), from Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnāti, “he binds”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, bond”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /banˈda.na/
• Hyphenation: banda‧na

Noun

bandana (plural bandanas)

1. bandana

Cornish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bandana.

Noun

bandana ?

1. bandana

Mutation

Mutation of bandana

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
bandana	vandana	unchanged	pandana	fandana, vandana*

* after 'th
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• “bandana” in Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Akademi Kernewek.

Indonesian

Etymology

From English bandana, from Hindi बन्धन (bandhan, “he ties”), from Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnāti, “he binds”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, bond”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [banˈda.na]
• Hyphenation: ban‧da‧na

Noun

bandana (plural bandana-bandana)

1. bandana

Further reading

• “bandana”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English bandana.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /banˈda.na/
• Rhymes: -ana
• Hyphenation: ban‧dà‧na

Noun

bandana f (plural bandane)

1. bandana

Further reading

• “bandana”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• “bandana” in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bandana.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /banˈda.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ban‧da‧na

Noun

bandana f (diminutive bandanka)

1. kerchief, bandana

Declension

Declension of bandana

	singular	plural
nominative	bandana	bandany
genitive	bandany	bandan
dative	bandanie	bandanom
accusative	bandanę	bandany
instrumental	bandaną	bandanami
locative	bandanie	bandanach
vocative	bandano	bandany

Further reading

• “bandana”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “bandana”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Ultimately from Hindi बंधन (bandhan, “the act of binding, a bond”), either via English bandana or French bandana.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /bɐ̃ˈdɐ̃.nɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐ̃ˈdɐ.nɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐ̃ˈdɐ.nɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɐ̃ˈda.nɐ/

• Rhymes: -ɐnɐ
• Hyphenation: ban‧da‧na

Noun

bandana f (plural bandanas)

1. bandana (piece of cloth worn as headgear)

Further reading

• “bandana”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /banˈdana/ [bãn̪ˈd̪a.na]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ban‧da‧na

Noun

bandana f (plural bandanas)

1. (Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, colloquial) Handkerchief folded in half or triangular piece of cloth worn on the head, knotted at its two lateral ends over the nape of the neck.