knapsack

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈnæpsæk/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Low German Knappsack,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} probably from knappen “to eat”, literally “to crack, snap”,^[2][3][4][5] which is of imitative origin,^[2][4] and Sack “bag”.^[2][3][4][5] Compare Dutch knapzak.^[3][4][5] It is related to sack.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bag of stout canvas or leather worn on the back by soldiers to carry necessities (1603, or c. 1600 in Etymonline).^[7][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The bag was at first chiefly a soldier's,^[7][6] but the word came to mean any similar bag carried on the back, as by hikers.^[7][6] Knapsacking, travelling with a knapsack, is recorded from 1877.^[7]

Timeline

• 1603 – a soldier's bag for the back.^[7][3][5]
• 1877 – knapsacking.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A bag of strong material with shoulder straps, carried on the back to hold supplies or belongings; a backpack or rucksack.

Word family

• knapsacked
• knapsack problem

Related words

• sack
• backpack
• rucksack
• haversack

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press