baggage

[ bag-ij ]

noun

1. trunks, suitcases, etc., used in traveling; luggage.
2. the portable equipment of an army.
3. things that encumber one's freedom, progress, development, or adaptability; impediments:

   intellectual baggage that keeps one from thinking clearly; neurotic conflicts that arise from struggling with too much emotional baggage.

4. Archaic.
   1. a worthless woman.
   2. a prostitute or disreputable woman.
   3. Often Disparaging. a pert, playful young woman or girl:

      a pretty baggage; a saucy baggage.

baggage

/ ˈbæɡɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. suitcases, bags, etc, packed for a journey; luggage
   2. ( as modifier )

      baggage car

2. an army's portable equipment
3. informal.
   1. a pert young woman
   2. an immoral woman or prostitute
4. informal.
   a cantankerous old woman
5. informal.
   previous knowledge and experience that a person may use or be influenced by in new circumstances

   cultural baggage

Word History and Origins

Origin of baggage¹

1400–50; late Middle English bagage < Middle French, equivalent to Old French bag ( ues ) bundles, packs (perhaps < Old Norse; bag ) + -age -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of baggage¹

C15: from Old French bagage , from bague a bundle, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse baggi bag

Example Sentences

The decision is part of the company’s aim to refocus on its core brand, an effort that has included ditching excess baggage like its Christmas Tree Shops stores and fixing its finances.

From Fortune

Pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers and other workers got notices Thursday that they may be furloughed, Southwest said.

From Fortune

When firefighters arrived, he said, they found that an Amtrak employee was in a golf cart “used to transport baggage” and was struck by a train.

From Washington Post

To be clear, Westbrook brings his own baggage and his own massive contract to Washington.

From Washington Post

Air travel requires strict adherence to baggage weight limitations, and backpacks and laptop bags used for going between work and home also have a finite capacity even before the toll of excess weight on your body is taken into account.

From Popular-Science

Other officials told reporters that searchers also spotted a life vest and baggage in the water.

From The Daily Beast

They take home mental baggage unlike anything carried in almost every other job.

From The Daily Beast

“My parents split up around the time I started writing, which brought in a lot of emotional baggage,” Kiesza says.

From The Daily Beast

There are all sorts of baggage around being a man, and being a woman.

From The Daily Beast

Much of the baggage that Charles carries is universally known.

From The Daily Beast

Well, if you do either lose baggage or want to buy a trunk already marked, deuced if I ain't the man to call on.

From Project Gutenberg

Although the army was greatly demoralised during the retreat through Portugal, he never lost a single gun or baggage wagon.

From Project Gutenberg

Soult's corps arrived without cannon or baggage, a mere armed rabble, and Ney's men jeered at the disorganised battalions.

From Project Gutenberg

After her baggage is on the carriage, drive immediately to the house, and be certain all is ready there for her comfort.

From Project Gutenberg

Robert occupied the abbeys of Biland and Rievaulx and divided the spoils of the English camp and the king's baggage.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• equipment
• gear
• luggage
• paraphernalia