pack

English has two words spelled pack: the bundle, from Low German or Dutch, and the verb “to fill a jury or committee unfairly”, probably from pact.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pæk/^[4]

pack¹ bundle

Etymology

The bundle is inherited from Middle English pak, packe,^[1][5] probably a borrowing from Low German or Dutch, as Middle Dutch pac, Middle Low German pak or Middle Flemish pac,^[6][1][2] taken into English from the wool traders of Flanders,^[6][7] or possibly from Old Norse pakki;^[6][1] all are of unknown origin.^[6][2] Italian pacco is a loan from Dutch.^[6] The verb is from the noun, possibly influenced by Anglo-French empaker and Medieval Latin paccāre.^[6][1] It is related to packet and package.^[8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bundle of goods, also a bag for carrying things: the early 13th century in Etymonline^[6] and before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle according to Barnhart, with the surname Pakbyndere in 1191.^[1]

Semantic evolution

“A set of persons”, usually of low character, is from the late 14th century,^[6][9] older than “a group of hunting animals” (mid-15th century).^[6][1] A set of playing cards is from the 1590s,^[6][1] floating ice from 1791,^[6] bundled cigarettes from 1865^[6] and submarines from 1943.^[6] A pack of lies is from 1763,^[6] and a knapsack on a frame from 1916.^[6][9] The verb, “to put into a pack”, is from the late 14th century,^[6][1] “to cram together” from the mid-15th century,^[6] and “to go away” (pack off) also from the mid-15th century.^[6] “To carry” (1805) led to “to be capable of delivering”, as a punch (1921),^[6] and to pack heat, to carry a gun, is 1940s underworld slang.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – a bundle.^[1][6]
• late 14th century – a set of people; verb, to bundle.^[6]
• mid-15th century – a pack of hounds.^[6]
• 1590s – a pack of cards.^[6]
• 1763 – pack of lies.^[6]
• 1921 – to pack a punch.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A collection of items tied or wrapped together; a bundle.
2. A bag carried on the back; a backpack.
3. A small packet of a standard number of items: a pack of cigarettes.
4. A group of animals, such as wolves or hounds, that hunt together.
5. A gang or group of people.
6. A complete set of playing cards.
7. A large expanse of floating ice.

Verb

1. To put into a container for carrying or storing.
2. To fill completely; to crowd or cram together.
3. To press down firmly, as earth.
4. To send away, often with off.
5. (informal) To carry, as a gun, or to be capable of delivering, as a punch.

Word family

• packer
• packhorse
• backpack
• six-pack
• wolf pack

pack² fill unfairly

Etymology

The verb is probably from the obsolete verb pact, taken as pack with the -ed ending,^[10][2][5] an Elizabethan mispronunciation of pact according to Etymonline;^[6] Barnhart notes that pack is recorded before pact as a verb (1535), and that the semantic connection is not established.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a secret agreement, to plot: before 1529, in Skelton.^[1]

Semantic evolution

To pack the cards, to arrange a deck to one's own advantage, is from the 1590s,^[6][1] and to fill a jury or committee with supporters to get a desired result followed.^[3][2] A noun, a secret or underhand arrangement, is from 1571.^[9]

Timeline

• before 1529 – to plot.^[1]
• 1571 – noun, a secret arrangement.^[9]
• 1590s – to pack the cards.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To fill a jury, committee or meeting with one's own supporters, to get a desired result.
2. (archaic) To arrange cards in a pack so as to cheat.

Related words

• packet
• package
• pact

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press