Bendy comes from bend + -y, from Old English bendan ('to bend'). The historical trail runs through bendan in Old English. Morphologically, bendy is transparent: it draws on bend + -y, from Old English bendan ('to bend'). Used as an adjective, bendy now means "capable of bending easily; flexible", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as bendiness and related forms such as bend, bendable, and bender. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.