Meanings
- human sciencesA mechanism whereby uncountable nouns are made countable by grouping into units.
Moreover, the opposite switch occurs as well: muds = 'kinds of mud', ice-creams = 'portions of ice cream' (Universal Packager).
1986 February 28, Emmon Bach, “The Algebra of Events”, in Linguistics and Philosophy, volume 9, numbers 1, Tense and Aspect in Discourse, page 101 more example
Similarly, the "Universal Packager" does not seem to be 'universal', but rather it appears to be largely restricted to foodstuffs, as Fillmore and Kay (1994: ch. 3, p. 29) observe.
1999, Hana Filip, Aspect, Eventuality Types, and Nominal Reference, New York: Garland, →ISBN, page 62
Origin
Compound of universal + packager; first used in print in 1986 by Emmon Bach (see quote below) modeled on universal grinder.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
universal packager. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/universal%20packager
“universal packager.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/universal%20packager. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “universal packager,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/universal%20packager.
Source: universal packager on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.