1.
triangular bandage; arm sling
A triangular cloth used in first aid to immobilize an injured arm or support a wound. A standard item in school and workplace first-aid kits.
腕を三角巾で吊った。
I put my arm in a sling.
救急箱には三角巾が入っている。
There is a triangular bandage in the first-aid kit.
骨折した右手を三角巾で固定してもらった。
They put my fractured right hand in a sling to immobilize it.
2.
triangular head scarf (worn in cooking class)
A triangular cloth worn over the hair to keep it out of food. Standard equipment for elementary school cooking classes and school lunch duty.
給食当番は三角巾をつける。
Students on school-lunch duty wear a head scarf.
調理実習では三角巾とエプロンを着用する。
In cooking class, we wear a head scarf and an apron.
母が白い三角巾を頭に巻いて台所に立っていた。
My mother was standing in the kitchen with a white head scarf wrapped around her hair.
Compound of 三角 (triangle) + 巾 (cloth). The same shaped cloth is used for two unrelated purposes: emergency first aid and keeping hair out of food.
SENSE 1 — FIRST AID:
- An essential item in any 救急箱 (first-aid kit).
- Used to make an arm sling, secure a splint, or cover a wound.
SENSE 2 — KITCHEN:
- Standard kit for 給食当番 (school-lunch duty) and 調理実習 (cooking class), worn together with an apron.
- Often the first thing a Japanese child learns to wear in a domestic kitchen setting.