Meanings
plural Gladstone bags
- datedAn early hinged bag, a precursor of the modern briefcase.
Cronshaw sat in the place of honour on a Gladstone bag, with his legs curled under him like a Turkish bashaw […].
1915, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 47, in Of Human Bondage1 more example
André produced a gigantic Gladstone bag and from it extracted a meal forever memorable - a "pique-nique" as he called it.
1961 March, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 147Synonyms: Gladstone
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn early hinged bag, a precursor of the modern briefcase.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna large travelling bag made of stiff leather
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named after British prime minister William E. Gladstone (1809–1898), a frequent traveller.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Gladstone bag. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gladstone%20bag
“Gladstone bag.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gladstone%20bag. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Gladstone bag,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gladstone%20bag.
Source: Gladstone bag on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.