Bandings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of forming or arranging objects, animals, or plants into groups marked by bands or rings; the application of bands to secure or identify items; the appearance of distinct stripes or layers on surfaces
2. The process of grouping elements together by encircling them with strips or bands; the practice of marking specimens with bands for identification; the characteristic pattern of parallel stripes visible on materials or organisms
3. The method of fastening or categorizing objects through encircling bands; the technique used to mark animals or plants with bands for study or classification; the presence of repetitive band-like markings on various surfaces or tissues

Etymology: "Bandings" is simply the plural of "banding," a noun formed from "band" plus the suffix "-ing." That suffix, descended from Old English "-ung" and "-ing," turns a verb or noun into a noun for an action, a result, or a material. Here it produces a noun for a set of bands: the stripes or parallel markings that appear on an animal's coat, a shell, or a surface. The main uncertainty concerns which "band" lies behind the word. Several English words of that shape exist, including "band" meaning a strip or ribbon, "band" meaning a group or fastening, and "bandy," and the source does not settle the choice, so the safest reading is the simplest one: a strip or stripe, since the word describes marks in the form of bands.

Synonyms: striping, markings, striping patterns