bandbox
|band-box|
🇺🇸
/ˈbændbɑks/
🇬🇧
/ˈbændbɒks/
small decorative box → neatness
Etymology
'bandbox' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'band' + 'box', where 'band' came from Old English 'bænd' meaning 'strip, ribbon' and 'box' came from Old English 'box' (from Latin 'buxus') meaning 'box (originally boxwood)'.
'bandbox' was formed as a compound word in Early Modern English (attested from the 17th–18th centuries) meaning a box for bands or ribbons; the parts 'band' and 'box' trace back through Old English and ultimately to Proto-Germanic and Latin sources.
Initially it meant 'a small box for ribbons, hatbands, or similar items', but over time it evolved figuratively to mean 'a very neat or smart place or thing' (as in 'in bandbox condition').
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a small box, originally for storing hatbands, ribbons, collars, or similar articles; a hatbox or decorative small container.
She kept her ribbons in a bandbox on the dressing table.
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Noun 2
(figurative) A place or thing that is very neat, smart, or tidy; in very good, well‑kept condition (often used in the phrase 'in bandbox condition' or 'a bandbox place').
After cleaning and polishing, the whole shop looked like a bandbox.
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Last updated: 2026/01/09 22:35