Cummerbund

Word of the Day for Friday, August 16, 2013

Cummerbund \KUHM-er-buhnd\, noun:

a wide sash worn at the waist, especially a horizontally pleated one worn with a tuxedo.

Wilson stood gloomily by his bed in the Bedford Hotel and contemplated his cummerbund, which lay ruffled like an angry snake…
-- Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, 1948

He was now dressed for the evening, in a white tuxedo shirt, black cummerbund, and bowtie.
-- Tom Clancy, Rainbow Six, 1998

Cummerbund came to English in the 17th century from the Urdu and Persian kamarband, meaning "waistband."

 

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com