What does “armband” mean in Dutch?

Dutch calls a bracelet an armband — literally “arm band.” It’s two everyday words pressed together: arm (arm) + band (band, strap, ribbon). The word explains itself, and once you see the pattern, similar compounds open up: polsband (wristband, lit. “wrist band”), haarband (hair band). Dutch builds nouns by stacking two shorter ones like this constantly, and armband is one of the most transparent examples you’ll meet at shopping level.

In this souvenir clip, the speaker keeps pulling out bracelet after bracelet: “Deze mooie armband. ... En deze mooie armband.” The word appears three times in a few seconds, which makes the form stick. Band on its own covers a wide range in Dutch — a strip of fabric, a musical band, a tyre (in some Belgian usage), and a rubber band. Armband is standard in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Useful vocabulary when shopping: gouden armband (gold bracelet), zilveren armband (silver bracelet), leren armband (leather bracelet), meerdere armbanden (several bracelets — note the plural -en). The compound logic extends to jewellery more broadly: oorbellen (earrings, lit. “ear bells”), halsketting (necklace, lit. “neck chain”).