different between backpack vs knapsack

English

Alternative forms

• back pack

Etymology

From back +? pack.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bæk.pæk/

Noun

backpack (plural backpacks)

1. A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when hiking, or on a student's back when carrying books.
2. A similarly placed item containing a parachute or other life-support equipment.

Synonyms

• haversack
• knapsack (US)
• packsack
• rucksack
• bookbag

Translations

Verb

backpack (third-person singular simple present backpacks, present participle backpacking, simple past and past participle backpacked)

1. (intransitive) to hike and camp overnight in backcountry with one's gear carried in a backpack
2. (intransitive) to engage in low-cost, generally urban, travel with minimal luggage and frugal accommodations
3. (transitive) to place or carry (an item or items) in a backpack

Derived terms

Translations

English

Etymology

From Low German knapzak or Dutch knapzak (older form cnapsack), from Middle Dutch cnappen (“to bite with teeth”), ultimately from knappen (“to eat, crack”), of imitative origin, + sack. German Knappsack is from Dutch.

Noun

knapsack (plural knapsacks)

1. (chiefly US) A case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back.
2. (cryptography) A set of values from which a subset is chosen.

Synonyms

• backpack
• rucksack

Translations

Verb

knapsack (third-person singular simple present knapsacks, present participle knapsacking, simple past and past participle knapsacked)

1. To go hiking while burdened with a knapsack, usually overnight or for longer.

   My sleeping bag fell off my backpack into the water, while we were knapsacking up the mountain.

Synonyms

• backpack

See also

• backpacking
• camping
• hiking

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.