Etymology

unpack

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Today it means: To remove from a package or container, particularly with respect to items that had previously been arranged closely and securely in a pack. Full definition →

Middle English unpakken
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromunpakken
  2. English todayunpack

From Middle English unpakken, equivalent to un- + pack. Compare Saterland Frisian uutpakje (“to unpack”), West Frisian útpakke (“to unpack”), Dutch uitpakken (“to unpack”), German auspacken (“to unpack”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.