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  1. haversack love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A bag carried over one shoulder to transport supplies, as on a hike.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A sack for oats or oatmeal.
  2. n. A bag used for holding the food that a soldier carries on his person, as one or more days' rations. It is usually carried by a belt slung over the shoulder.
  3. n. In artillery, a leather bag used to carry cartridges from the ammunition-chest to the piece in loading.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A small, strong bag carried on the back or the shoulder, usually with only one strap. Originally made of canvas.
  2. n. archaic oat-sack, or nose-bag for a horse.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Prov. Eng. A bag for oats or oatmeal.
  2. n. A bag or case, usually of stout cloth, in which a soldier carries his rations when on a march; -- distinguished from knapsack.
  3. n. A gunner's case or bag used to carry cartridges from the ammunition chest to the piece in loading.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder

Etymologies

  1. French havresac, from obsolete German Habersack : German dialectal Haber, oats (from Middle High German habere, from Old High German habaro) + German Sack, bag (from Middle High German sac, from Old High German, from Latin saccus; see sack1). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “But Clem, after looking round suspiciously among the litter of waterproofs, walking-sticks, nets, rods, and golf-clubs, took down Vin's fishing haversack from a hook on the wall.”

    Mrs. Miniver

  • “All the food he had left in his haversack was a cup of cornmeal, so he drew together sticks to make a fire for cooking mush.”

    Cold Mountain

  • “In the haversack is a pannikin with a hinged handle that may be used as a saucepan.”

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 1178, June 25, 1898

  • “All I had in my haversack was a single hard biscuit, after munching which I lay down upon the ground and fell instantly asleep.”

    My Lady of Doubt

  • “The cauldron had probably contained some perishable material such as grain, which had decayed and been replaced by sand from the grave fill, and the lamb chops and the bronze bowl had originally been in some kind of haversack or kit bag, along with some other perishable food perhaps bread or fruit?”

    Archive 2008-07-01

  • “She had a kind of haversack, all bejeweled like the rest of her, and she took from it a considerable quantity of very thin transparent membrane, resembling plass.”

    The Golden Torc

  • “The explosive was kept in a blue and red "haversack", he said.”

    The Times of India

  • “The explosive was kept in a blue and red "haversack", he said. comment Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the”

    Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Views'

  • “It reminded me to look up if "haversack" is a real word ( "Bag shark lost in cave" for those curious).”

    Discover Blogs

  • “When I was a kid I was always fascinated with what was in my dads "haversack".”

    Caught in the Crossfire - Articles

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synonyms (1)

Words with the same meaning

  1. Ba

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. bag

hyponyms (1)

Words that are more specific

  1. kitbag

same context (17)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. cartridge-box
  2. knapsack
  3. bedroll
  1. canteen
  2. backpack
  3. mitten
  1. rucksack
  2. bayonet
  3. carpetbag
  1. machete
  2. towline
  3. anorak
  1. halter
  2. expressman
  3. saddlebag
  1. peritoneum
  2. tarp

reverse dictionary (1)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. pass-box

tags (3)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. t-shirt
  1. favorite
  1. cvcvccvcc

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tagging (1)

Words tagged ‘haversack’

  1. havresack

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘haversack’.

Comments

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  • reesetee You'll love it, uselessness. It's fascinating stuff. Oct 18, 2007

  • uselessness The what? Don't hint at such marvels, my boy, unless you're prepared to expound upon the reference. Oct 18, 2007

  • seanahan Speaking of calling people with strange questions, I got an unexpected call late one night asking me if I knew anything about the vowels in English changing over time and I launched into a 10 minute explanation of the Great English Vowel Shift. Oct 18, 2007

  • trivet Erlack! Oct 17, 2007

  • reesetee True. And not only can the topic slack, but it can take another tack into a discussion of sacks. Or slacks. And the comments start to stack once the Wordies come back. Oct 17, 2007

  • uselessness It's okay. The haversack page is a happenstance stage, where the topic can slack and the jokes fall off track. Oct 17, 2007

  • chained_bear Actually, that usage for a gunner's bag is obsolete. I just made a few phone calls (I love it that I know whom to call with weird questions like this), and found out 1) the artillery charges are usually kept in a box, called a limber-box, and 2) when in a bag, it's just called an artillery bag. That's for the big cartridges, for the cannon--not for the priming charges, which are still kept in a cartridge box.

    Oh shit. I ruined the haversack conversation!! Aaagh! Oct 17, 2007

  • arby Isn't there a town called Haversack in PA? Or am I completely insane? (Those two are not mutually exclusive, BTW.)

    Bartleby sez:

    (from E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.)

    Strictly speaking is a bag to carry oats in. (See HAVER-CAKES.) It now means a soldier’s ration-bag slung from the shoulder; a gunner’s leather-case for carrying charges. Oct 17, 2007

  • reesetee Aw, just kidding. Pack up your troubles in your haversack, have a knot, and go to Hackensack. You'll feel better. :-) Oct 17, 2007

  • chained_bear I couldn't possibly add to this glorious mess of yours. I'm just here to watch the fireworks. Oct 17, 2007

  • reesetee Now don't get into that here, chained_bear, and mess up our nice haversack page!

    Hmph. Oct 16, 2007

  • chained_bear But NOT to a satchel of shite. Oct 16, 2007

  • yarb Maybe similar to a bag of contents. Oct 16, 2007

  • chained_bear I. Cannot. Believe. I missed this one. Oct 16, 2007

  • reesetee Ohhhh, well if it's Hackensack we're talking about--why, that changes everything. We'll need to start all over again. ;-) Jul 19, 2007

  • uselessness Hackensack lots get haversacked, lots. With double the havers, and double the knots. Jul 19, 2007

  • arby Yeah but what if they live in Hackensack? Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry Trying...to...parse... Jul 19, 2007

  • uselessness Haversacks cannot sack the havers without having havers inside and a sturdy knot tied. Sack the sack knots on the have-notters' sacks, and you'll sack all the sacking of havers and lots. Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry Well, if the Havers' sacks are tightly knotted it will take longer for the have-notters to sack the havers' oats and what not. Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry I see your point, U. If the have-notters have haversacks, they are no longer have-notters. Furthermore, once the have-notters get haversacks, they will sack and pillage the havers' oats and what not. Clearly, haversacks are a danger to the class of havers and should be banned! Off with their heads! Jul 19, 2007

  • reesetee So if the havers have havers and the have-nots do not, and the havers have things that the have-notters do not, and the have-notters have nots and what-not, which the havers may or may not have, then here's my question:

    Do the haversacks have knots, or not? Jul 19, 2007

  • uselessness It's a struggle between the haves (havers) and the have-nots (have-notters), in which the havers have things, which are havers, also known as oats, and the have-notters have nots and what not. Of course the latter have no need for haversacks, for they have no havers. But the havers have havers, and the haversacks are put to good use. Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry Oats, I tell ya. All is oats. Jul 19, 2007

  • reesetee Wait. What's not in a what's-notter's haversack? The haved things? Or the haven't things? Or does the haver have the things but not the haver's sack to put things in? Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry Are you sure you don't mean the Haver's sack? There are Have-notter's sacks, too, you know. They are filled with nots and what not. Jul 19, 2007

  • uselessness Provided the haver has them. If the things are not had by the haver, it becomes a haven'tersack. Jul 19, 2007

  • reesetee Or just the haver's container for putting things in, even if said things aren't actually in said container.

    That's what I said. Jul 19, 2007

  • uselessness Must be the bag in which someone who has something puts the thing that he has. Jul 19, 2007

  • slumry A small strong bag carried on one shoulder. Originally a small bags carrield by cavalry troops for horse provender. Literally, "oat bag." Jul 19, 2007

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‘haversack’ has been looked up 1826 times, loved by 3 people, added to 16 lists, commented on 30 times, and has a Scrabble score of 21.