baggage

[bag-ij] /ˈbæg ɪdʒ/
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.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English bagage < Middle French, equivalent to Old French bag(ues) bundles, packs (perhaps < Old Norse; see bag) + -age -age
Can be confused
bag, baggage, luggage, pack, sac, sack.
Examples from the web for baggage
  • To add to your baggage woes, several airlines have established weight limits for carry-on luggage.
  • We had no baggage animals and no money to hire them.
  • You're the one candidate that is new, fresh, with no baggage.
  • Lots of grammatical baggage can be easily jettisoned.
  • Forgiveness is a way of letting go of baggage that weighs us down and prevents us from growing.
  • All the rest came from your own personal psychological baggage.
  • So, everyone is carrying around this cultural baggage.
  • The topic can't be intelligently discussed because of all the baggage brought in.
  • If you feel threatened by your ignorance, that is your baggage.
  • During that time, they may not have access to their carry-on baggage or hold personal items on their laps.
British Dictionary definitions for baggage

baggage

/ˈbæɡɪdʒ/
noun
1.
  1. suitcases, bags, etc, packed for a journey; luggage
  2. (mainly US & Canadian) (as modifier): baggage car
2.
an army's portable equipment
3.
(informal, old-fashioned)
  1. a pert young woman
  2. an immoral woman or prostitute
4.
(Irish, 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 Origin
C15: from Old French bagage, from bague a bundle, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse baggibag
Word Origin and History for baggage
n.

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."

Slang definitions & phrases for baggage

baggage

Related Terms

excess baggage