knapsack
/ˈnæpsæk/ noun, verb
Forms knapsacks knapsacking knapsacked
- noun (chiefly US, dated or archaic in UK) A case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back.
- noun (cryptography) A set of values from which a subset is chosen.
- verb To go hiking while burdened with a knapsack, usually overnight or for longer. “My sleeping bag fell off my backpack into the water, while we were knapsacking up the mountain.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Low German knapzak or Dutch knapzak (older form cnapsack), from Middle Dutch cnappen (“to bite with teeth”), ultimately from knappen (“to eat, crack”), of imitative origin, + sack. German Knappsack is from Dutch.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A case of canvas or leather, for carrying on the back a soldier's necessaries, or the clothing, etc., of a traveler.
Etymology [D. knapzak; knappen to eat + zak a bag. See Knap, v. t., and Sack.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “knapsack”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details