The Knapsack and Pack
E. T. Renbourn · Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps · 1954
IT may be of interest at the outset to say a few words concerning the origin of some terms linked for so long with the various parts of the soldier's equipment.The word "knapsack" is found for the first time in the English language about the year 1600, and is derived from the Low German Knappen-Sack, meaning a food bag.During the first half of the seventeenth century it was commonly referred to by the Saxon derivative Snap-Sacke (snap or provender).The soldier's "haversack" is the equivalent of the Sarcina (Latin, a bundle), or the osier basket of the Roman soldier which, during the march, was often carried at the end of a forked stick or a spear.The term first appears towards the end of the seventeenth century as the French abresac, habresac, or havresac, and originates in the Low German Hafer or Haber-Sack, meaning an oat sack as commonly used for horses.The word did not appear in English until the end of the eighteenth century, and is still used in the Westmorland dialect as havercake or oat cake.We first hear of "canteen" in 1744; the word appears to be 1Protected by copyright, including for uses related to text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies..