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ban·dy (băndē)
Share:
tr.v. ban·died, ban·dy·ing, ban·dies
1.
a. To toss or throw back and forth.
b. To hit (a ball, for example) back and forth.
2.
a. To give and receive (words, for example); exchange: The old friends bandied compliments when they met.
b. To discuss in a casual or frivolous manner: bandy an idea about.
adj.
Bowed or bent in an outward curve: bandy legs.
n. pl. ban·dies
Sports
1. A game resembling field hockey but played on ice by skaters.
2. A stick, bent at one end, used in playing this game.

[Early Modern English, perhaps from Middle French se bander, to form a coalition or alliance (against something), from bande, band, troop; see BAND2. Adjective, from the resemblance of bandy legs to the stick used in bandy.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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.