Unknown; compareOld Englishbindele(“a binding, a tying”)[2] frombindan(“to bind”), andbundle. Additionally, comparemister frommaster.
bindle (pluralbindles)
- (now Scotland)[2] Any givenlength ofcord,rope,twine, etc, used tobind something.[2]
The fronthobo carries abindle on the end of a stick.
Severalbindles ofcocaineProbably a corruption ofbundle; perhaps influenced by the preceding wordbindle meaning "length of cord used to bind something".[1]
bindle (pluralbindles)
- (US and Canada slang) Abundle carried by ahobo (usually containing his possessions), often on a stick slung over the shoulder; ablanket roll.[1]
2006, Cormac McCarthy,The Road, New York, N.Y.:Alfred A[braham] Knopf,→ISBN:[L]astly he made abindle in a plastic tarp of some cans of juice and cans of fruit and cans of vegetables[…]
- (Canada, US, slang) Any bundle orpackage; specifically one containingnarcotics such ascocaine,heroin, ormorphine.[1]
Terms derived from the sense
a tramp’s bedding roll[1]tramp's or itinerant's bundle
