Rucksack
/ˈrʌk.sæk/noun
A backpack, especially one with a sturdy frame or military-style design.
Did you know?Rucksack entered English from German in the nineteenth century and became strongly associated with Alpine travel, hiking, and military equipment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sag-
“A proposed ancient root connected with carrying or containing; its exact relationship to later sack-words is debated.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
sákkos
“A coarse cloth or sack, probably a very early borrowing from a Near Eastern language.”
1st Century BCE–1st Century CE
Latin
saccus
“A sack or bag, borrowed from Greek.”
Old High German
Old High German
rukki + sac
“Back plus sack; the two nouns supplied the components of the later German compound.”
16th–18th Centuries
German
Rucksack
“Literally “back sack,” used for a bag carried on the back.”
19th Century
English
rucksack
“An English borrowing for a backpack, popularized through Alpine travel and military usage.”