Meanings
plural knapsacks
- USarchaicA case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back.
1936, Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post, ch 3. "All but Nancy carried knapsacks, with sandwiches and thermos flasks of tea. Peggy’s knapsack held Nancy’s provisions as well as her own, for on Nancy’s shoulders, instead of a knapsack, was a pigeon-basket […]"
1 more example
The two elder reluctantly left him and walked on, taking their brother's knapsack to relieve him in following, and the youngest entered the field.
1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 23
present singular third person knapsacks · participle present knapsacking · participle past knapsacked · past knapsacked
- 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 & antonyms
nouna bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Dutchcnappen“to bite with teeth”
- Dutchknapzak
- Low Germanknapzak
- Englishknapsack
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.
More words from Low German, Dutch, Middle Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek γυλιός
- γυλιός (guliós)case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Bulgarian раница
- раница (ranica)case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Finnish reppu
- reppucase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
French sac à dos
- sac à doscase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
German Rucksack, Tornister
- Rucksackcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- Tornistercase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Hungarian hátizsák, tarisznya
- hátizsákcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- tarisznyacase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- általvetőcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- iszákcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- batyucase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- zsákcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- kenyérzsákcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- oldalzsákcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Italian zaino, zainetto
- zainocase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- zainettocase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Latin mantica, pēra
- manticacase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- pēracase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Russian рюкза́к, ранец
- рюкза́к (rjukzák)case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
- ранец (ranec)case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Spanish morral
- morralcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Swedish ryggsäck
- ryggsäckcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Turkish sırt çantası
- sırt çantasıcase of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Yiddish רוקזאַק
- רוקזאַק (rukzak)case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back
Cite this entry
knapsack. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knapsack
“knapsack.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knapsack. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knapsack,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knapsack.
Source: knapsack on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.