banderlog
|ban-der-log|
🇺🇸
/ˈbændərˌlɑɡ/
🇬🇧
/ˈbændəˌlɒɡ/
monkey-people; chaotic, mindless crowd
Etymology
'banderlog' originates from Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), specifically the words 'bandar' and 'log', where 'bandar' meant 'monkey' (ultimately from Sanskrit 'vānara') and 'log' meant 'people'.
The compound was used in English by Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book, 1894) as 'bander-log' for a tribe of monkeys; it was adopted into English literature and later used figuratively as 'banderlog'/'bander-log'.
Initially it meant 'monkey-people' (a literal name for a group of monkeys); over time it evolved into a figurative sense meaning 'a disorderly or mindless crowd' or 'rabble'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
(literary, literal) A tribe or group of monkeys; originally the name Kipling gave to a clan of monkeys in The Jungle Book.
In The Jungle Book, the banderlog swung through the trees, chattering and stealing whatever they could find.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/10 03:14