'bandsman' originates from English, specifically from the words 'band' and 'man', where 'band' originally meant 'a group or bond' and 'man' meant 'person'.

'band' can be traced to Old Norse/Old English forms such as Old Norse 'band' and Old English 'bænd' meaning 'bond' or 'tie'; combined with Old English 'mann' this produced Middle English forms (e.g. 'bandesman') and eventually the modern English 'bandsman'.

Initially it meant 'a person belonging to a band (group or tie)', but over time it became specialized to mean 'a member of a musical band, especially a military or brass band.'