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New Zealand military police wearing triangular brassards

A brassard, or armband, is a piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm. The brassard, when spread out, may be roughly rectangular in shape, where it is worn merely around the arm; it may also be a roughly triangular shape, in which case the brassard is also attached to a shoulder strap.

It is used as an item of military uniform to which rank badges (or other insignia) may be attached, instead of to the actual clothing.

It is often used:

• to temporarily attach insignia, such as rank, to clothing not normally bearing insignia (such as civilian clothing or a military mechanic's coveralls);
• to temporarily attach insignia to a uniform for a limited time, such as the insignia for an "officer of the day" or "duty officer"; or for uniforms expected to have a high turnover of either wearer or insignia borne, such as those of cadets or other youth organizations. Brassards worn by military police and Red Cross personnel fall under this category; or
• as a permanent uniform item, such as the swastika armband of the Nazi Party.

In some areas, men sew black armbands onto their sleeves to signify mourning. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District the Supreme Court ruled that the wearing of armbands is a form of constitutionally-protected speech.

"Armband" in German is a bracelet.

Some remarkable, historical items are only for decoration, such as the present of the people from the colonies to Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.

• The word brassard (also brassart or brasset) is also used to refer to pieces of armour worn to cover the entire arm (encompassing vambrace, rerebrace, and possibly a couter).
• The word "armbands" may also refer to waterwings, a swimming aid which takes the form of a pair of flotation devices, usually worn around the arms, above the elbow. These are most commonly used by children learning to swim.

• Black armband view of history

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