Bandages

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A strip of material used to protect or support a wound
2. a means of binding or tying something together securely
3. a metaphorical term for something that provides temporary relief or concealment from a problem

Etymology: The plural "bandages" is simply the plural of "bandage," a strip of cloth used to wrap a wound. That strip, in turn, came into English from French "bande," meaning a band or strip, with the French word itself descending from Latin roots tied to the idea of binding. English already had its own word for the same thing: Old English "þwǣle," meaning strip, ribbon or bandage, which was eventually displaced by the French loan. The figurative sense, a temporary cover for a problem, grows naturally from the literal one. A bandage hides and holds together what lies beneath, so it came to stand for measures that conceal or patch over a difficulty without curing it.

Synonyms: dressings, wraps