bends

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bend1

▶verb (past and past part. bent)

• 1 shape or force (something straight) into a curve or angle.

  ■ (of a road, river, or path) deviate from a straight line.

• 2 (of a person) incline the body downwards; stoop.

• 3 interpret or modify (a rule) to suit oneself.

• 4 direct (one's attention or energies) to a task.

• 5 Nautical attach (a sail or cable) by means of a knot.

▶noun

• 1 a curved or angled part.

  ■ a curve in a road, path, or river.

• 2 a kind of knot used to join two ropes together, or one rope to another object.

• 3 (the bends) [treated as sing.] decompression sickness.

– phrases
bend someone's ear informal talk to someone, especially at length or to ask a favour.
bend one's elbow N. Amer. informal drink alcohol.
round (or US around) the bend informal mad.

– derivatives
bendable adjective,
bendiness noun,
bendy adjective (bendier, bendiest).

– origin OE bendan ‘put in bonds, tension a bow by means of a string’, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bend2

▶noun Heraldry a broad diagonal stripe from top left to bottom right of a shield.

– origin ME: from Anglo-Norman Fr. bande, OFr. bende ‘flat strip’.