A knapsack is literally a "snack bag" — from Dutch for eating + sack, because soldiers carried their food in it. English also borrowed rucksack from German and made up backpack on its own.
A bag with shoulder straps, carried on the back, used for carrying supplies; a backpack or rucksack.
From Dutch knapzak or Low German Knappsack, from knappen (to bite, to eat, to snap) + zak/Sack (bag, sack). A knapsack is literally a food-bag or snack-bag — the bag in which a soldier or traveler carried their provisions. Key roots: knappen (Dutch/Low German: "to bite, to eat, to snap"), *sakkuz (Proto-Germanic (from
A knapsack is literally a "snack-sack" — from Dutch knappen (to bite or eat) + zak (bag). It was the bag soldiers and travelers carried their food in. English has three competing words for this same object, each from a different Germanic language: knapsack (Dutch), rucksack (German, from Rücken, back), and backpack (English