Alteration and partial translation of German Gummiband, rubber band : Gummi, rubber, gum; see gummite + Band, band (from Middle High German, from Old High German; see bhendh- in Appendix I).
REGIONAL NOTE:
Many Pennsylvanians are only a generation or two removed from German-speaking homes. Naturally, the English spoken in Pennsylvania would feature words borrowed directly from German. Gum band, the western Pennsylvanian equivalent for rubber band, is derived from German Gummiband, “rubber band.” Smearcase, a Pennsylvania term for cottage cheese, is from Schmierkäse, “soft cheese that can be ‘smeared,’ or spread.” Other Pennsylvania expressions are direct translations of German idioms. For example, in the expression The smearcase is all, the word all comes from German alle, meaning “finished.”
