baggage

[bag-ij]

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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.

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

Related Words for baggage

equipment, paraphernalia, gear, luggage, tote, things, impedimenta, effects, slough, belongings, trappings, bags, overnighter, accoutrements, carry-on, two-suiter

Examples from the Web for baggage

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of baggage

He also procured a couple of mules to transport his baggage.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
William Dobein James
Baggage and rifle on shoulder, he pursued a course south by east.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
The rebels were compelled to make a stand to protect their baggage.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
I left the baggage in charge of four gigantic mastiffs which we had brought with us.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka
Accommodation for the baggage was provided in a similarly practical manner.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka

British Dictionary definitions for baggage

baggage

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

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."