luggage English · revision 39549

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1596, Thomas Nashe, Have with You to Saffron-Walden}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlʌɡɪd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|lug|-age|t1=to drag, pull with effort]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) after [[baggage]].^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) The AHD calls it probably ''lug'' plus the end of ''baggage''.^(AHD 2024) The verb [[lug]] is of Scandinavian origin; compare [[sv|lugga|t=to pull by the hair]] and [[no|lugge]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ What has to be lugged about, inconveniently heavy baggage: 1596, in Thomas Nashe's ''Have with You to Saffron-Walden''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(ODE 2010) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1595.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In early use the word carried the idea of burden.^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010) Johnson (1755) defined it as "any thing cumbrous and unweildy that is to be carried away; any thing of more weight than value", quoting ''The Tempest''.^(Johnson 1755)^(Etymonline) It was also the baggage of an army,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) and between 1614 and 1693 ''a luggage'' was an encumbrance.^(OED 2026) Figurative uses appear from 1612, in John Donne.^(OED 2026) The burdensome sense has faded: in the 20th century ''luggage'' became the usual British word for a traveller's bags, where American English mostly says [[baggage]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) From 1915 it has also meant the bags and suitcases themselves as goods for sale.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1595 – Merriam-Webster's first date.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1596 – heavy baggage to be lugged about.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1612 – figurative use.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1614 – an encumbrance (obsolete after 1693).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1915 – bags and suitcases designed for travellers' belongings.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[suitcase]]s, bags and trunks that hold a traveller's belongings; [[baggage]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (figurative) Something burdensome that one carries along.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[luggageless]]

+ * [[left-luggage office]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lug]]

+ * [[baggage]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}