EtymologyMap
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Today it means

bag

a flexible container used for carrying or holding things

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Where does the word "bag" come from? It comes from Old Norse baggi, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

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Where does the word "bag" come from? It comes from Old Norse baggi, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

Bag’s story begins in Old Norse: baggi meant “a bag, sack.” A container made of flexible material for carrying things. It reached English by 1200s as bag. Settled as the standard English word for a flexible carrying container. Today, bag means a flexible container used for carrying or holding things.

  1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval baggi "a bag, sack", a container made of flexible material for carrying things.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1200s bag "a flexible container for carrying things", settled as the standard English word for a flexible carrying container.

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