From French, literally 'bottom (backside) of a sack' — the image of reaching into a bag and hitting the dead end.
A street or passage closed at one end; a dead end.
From French 'cul-de-sac,' literally 'bottom of a sack' — from 'cul' (bottom, backside, from Latin 'culus') + 'de' (of) + 'sac' (bag, sack). The image is of reaching into a bag and hitting the bottom — you can't go any further. Key roots: culus (Latin: "bottom, backside"), saccus (Latin: "bag, sack").
You live on the backside of a bag. French 'cul' doesn't just mean 'bottom' — it specifically means 'buttocks' (from Latin 'culus,' arse). So 'cul-de-sac' is literally 'arse of a bag.' English suburbia's most respectable-sounding address type is actually quite rude in French. Real estate agents who