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saddlebag

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Etymology and origin of the English word saddlebag

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1675 W. Cunningham, Diary More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *sadulazOld Norse baggi
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English saddle
English saddlebag
From the same root
English packsaddle ← saddle

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsædəlˌbæɡ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English saddle + bag.[2][3][4] Saddle is from Old English sadol,[4][5] and bag is probably from Old Norse baggi (“pack, bundle”).[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bag carried beside or behind a saddle, especially one of a linked pair laid across a horse's back: 1675, in W. Cunningham's diary, the first record in the OED's revision of 2008.[2] Other dictionaries date it much later: Merriam-Webster Unabridged 1742, Dictionary.com 1765–75 and Etymonline 1773.[3][6][4]

Semantic evolution

From the horse the word moved to machines, with similar bags for bicycles and motorcycles recorded from 1920.[2][3] The hand-knotted bags of the Middle East also gave a name to an upholstery cloth imitating them, popular in the late Victorian period,[3] and a chair covered in such carpeting is called a saddlebag from 1919.[2] A saddlebag house is a double cabin whose two units stand several feet apart under one roof.[3] The slang sense of fat on the hips or outer thighs, usually plural, is recorded from 1971, first in a Winnipeg newspaper, and began in North America.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1675 – a bag carried beside or behind a saddle.[2]
  • 1919 – a chair upholstered with saddlebag carpeting (rare).[2]
  • 1920 – a similar bag for a bicycle or motorcycle.[2]
  • 1971 – slang, usually plural, excess fat on the hips or outer thighs.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A large bag or pouch carried beside a saddle, usually one of a pair joined by a strap so that the weight is balanced.[3][7][2]
  2. A similar bag carried on a bicycle or motorcycle.[3][7][2]
  3. An upholstery cloth imitating the hand-knotted texture of saddlebags from the Middle East, or (rare) a chair covered with it.[3][2]
  4. A double cabin with two units a few feet apart under a single roof; also called a saddlebag house.[3]
  5. (slang, usually plural) A roll of fat on the hips or outer thighs.[2][7]

Verb

  1. To catch on an obstruction and swing around it: The boat saddlebagged on a mooring post.[3]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

  • rotten · also from Old Norse
  • kindle · also from Old Norse
  • awe · also from Old Norse
  • scar · also from Old Norse
  • crawl · also from Old Norse
  • skate · also from Old Norse
  • troll · also from Old Norse
  • thrive · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Saddlebag.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/saddlebag. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·