baggage

[ bag-ij ]

/ ˈbæg ɪdʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR baggage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

trunks, suitcases, etc., used in traveling; luggage.

the portable equipment of an army.

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.

Archaic.

a worthless woman.
a prostitute or disreputable woman.
Often Disparaging. a pert, playful young woman or girl: a pretty baggage; a saucy baggage.

Nearby words

bagdad boil, bagehot, bagehot, walter, bagel, bagful, baggage, baggage car, baggage handler, baggagemaster, baggala, baggataway

Origin of baggage

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for baggage

Other officials told reporters that searchers also spotted a life vest and baggage in the water.
Wreckage, Bodies of AirAsia Crash Found|Lennox Samuels|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are all sorts of baggage around being a man, and being a woman.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Why He’s Exploring the Word ‘Feminism’ and Online Misogyny|Marlow Stern|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Much of the baggage that Charles carries is universally known.
Imagining Prince Charles as King Makes All of Britain Wish They Could Leave Like Scotland|Clive Irving|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Think about it: The longer the runway, the more time the pilot has to get the airplane and all its baggage off the ground.
Why Middle School Should Be Abolished|David C. Banks|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

So obviously when a character becomes iconic, you have to deal with the baggage that comes with it.
Robert Pattinson’s Life After ‘Twilight’|Andrew Romano|June 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their baggage and about ten thousand dollars in specie was packed upon mules.
Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 129-444))|James Mooney
So wild a rush was made when Larissa was abandoned, that the soldiers did not even fold their tents or carry away their baggage.
The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 27, May 13, 1897|Various
After Adoniram had driven away, they sat in a row on a bench on the platform, with their baggage around them.
Jane Field|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
She turned toward the other girls, who were putting their baggage in their car.
Janet Hardy in Radio City|Ruthe S. Wheeler
You will need”—he paused, overlooking the baggage—“three burros and two riding-mules.
The Mystery of The Barranca|Herman Whitaker

British Dictionary definitions for baggage

baggage

/ (ˈbæɡɪdʒ) /

noun

suitcases, bags, etc, packed for a journey; luggage
mainly US and Canadian (as modifier)baggage car

an army's portable equipment

informal, old-fashioned

a pert young woman
an immoral woman or prostitute

Irish informal a cantankerous old woman

informal previous knowledge and experience that a person may use or be influenced by in new circumstancescultural baggage

Word Origin for baggage

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for baggage

baggage

mid-15c., "portable equipment of an army; plunder, loot," from Old French bagage "baggage, (military) equipment" (14c.), from bague "pack, bundle, sack," ultimately from the same Scandinavian source that yielded bag (n.). Baggage-smasher (1851) was American English slang for "railway porter."