bandage

The word 'bandage' entered English in the late 16th century from Middle French 'bandage', itself derived from 'bande' meaning a strip or band. The French 'bande' traces back to the Germanic root bindan-, meaning 'to bind', which is also the source of the English word 'band'. The suffix '-age', of Latin origin via French, commonly forms nouns denoting a collective entity or a result. Thus, the literal construction is "a result/collection related to a band," which evolved specifically to mean a strip of cloth used for binding wounds, highlighting its functional purpose derived from the core concept of binding.

Structure: band (strip) + age (noun suffix) - band: From Old Norse 'band' (a strip, something that binds), functioning as the core root denoting a strip or tie. - age: From Old French '-age', a noun-forming suffix indicating a related thing or result, functioning as a suffix that forms nouns from other parts of speech.