When you are going to attend a formal event like a swanky new year’s eve party or a wedding, you might consider putting on a complete tuxedo. There are many elements to a traditional tuxedo. You have special dress pants, dress shoes and a dress shirt. You might have cuff links too. And you know that band of fabric that goes around your waist? It’s called a cummerbund.
All Dressed Up
It’s not a cumberbund, cummerband or cumberband. These are very common misspellings (and subsequent mispronunciations) of the word. It’s understandable that people would use an incorrect form of the word as it’s not every day that you put on a cummerbund. It’s not like putting on a pair of jeans or putting on a belt. These are far more common articles of clothing. A cummerbund, generally speaking, is restricted to the context of a formal tuxedo.
As with so many other pieces of clothing, particularly formal wear, pricing on a cummerbund can vary considerably. The more budget-minded can find one bundled up with a bow tie for under $15
, but you could just as easily find a far more expensive cummerbund from some high-end designer using extra refined materials for several times that amount of money. It’s really up to you.
Traditionally, a cummerbund would come in basic black to match the bow tie, the shirt buttons, the pants and the jacket for a “black tie” affair, but there are all sorts of different color variations like the purple and the blue depicted above. You can even find some with different patterns and prints, depending on how bold or expressive you want to be. But no matter what design you choose and even though it is technically a “band” that goes around your waist, it’s not a cumberband. It’s a cummerbund.
Afghan and German Origins?
Interestingly enough, though, the original term cummerband actually entered the English language in 1616. This came by way of Afghanistan in the context of tribal warriors, adapted from a compound Persian term: kamar (meaning “waist”) and band (meaning “band”). It’s possible that the contemporary spelling of cummerbund is related to the German spelling kummerbund.
Today, you may still find the term “cummerband” used, but this is usually related more to the dress uniform for the military in India or Pakistan. The military personnel oftentimes wear a leather belt on top of the cummerband, which is a notable difference from the cummerbund that we civilians wear.
Mr. Holmes, I Presume
As an aside, the impetus for today’s post comes from a comical version of actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s name: Bandicoot Cummerbund. I’ve also heard Balderdash Cabbagepatch, Barnacles Cucumberstand and Bendyneck Camerastrap. I’m sure the man who plays Sherlock, Khan and Smaug would enjoy those.
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