Definition 1: A broad sash or waistband, pleated lengthwise, and usually worn in place of a vest with a tuxedo or dinner jacket.

Usage 1: This noun is a lexical orphan, with no other part of speech stemming from it. One caveat: speakers sometimes add an anticipatory [b] in the second syllable, mispronouncing it "cumberbund." Be sure to keep your b's under rein as you use today's word.

Suggested usage: Cummerbunds make only a few appearances in the lives of most people outside weddings and the prom: "The chaperones were vigilant during the slow dances, making sure that no cummerbund touched an evening dress." Here's a possible headline from the soap opera awards: "I. M. A. Loozer Chokes Lance Sterling with Cummerbund at Podium."

Etymology: From the Hindi kamarband from Persian kamar "waist" + band "band." Does it surprise you that Persian and English have the same word for band? That is why we think they were all one language, PIE, at one time. The word comes into Old Iranian (Persian) "banda-." The PIE root was apparently *bhendh- "to bind." It also gave us "bandana" from Sanskrit bandhati "he ties," "bundle," and "ribbon," a corruption of "riband." (We thank Mary Fengar Gail of Irvine, CA and Sharon Miller of Canal Fulton, Ohio for thinking of us in the midst of joyful unions they attended.)