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sack

The origin and history of sack.

Etymology

From Old English sacc, ultimately from Latin saccus, "large bag," which itself came from Greek and possibly a Semitic source. The "fire someone" sense grew from 19th-century slang about a dismissed worker packing his tools into a sack.

Origin: Latin · First attested 1800

Class of 1800

sack first entered the language around 1800. Other words from the same year:

See the full Class of 1800 →
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Etymology: FreeDict original editorial.