Etymology : Middle English sak bag, sackcloth, from Old English sacc, from Latin saccus bag and Late Latin saccus sackcloth, both from Greek sakkos bag, sackcloth, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew saq bag, sackcloth
Pronunciation : 'sak
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. large burlap or canvas bag; backpack or other bag; dismissal from employment; instance of plundering, pillage; style of loose-fitting dress; type of white wine; amount of material that fills one sack. dismiss from employment, fire; plunder, pillage; put in a sack, pack into a bag. sack\sack\ (s&scr;k), n. [oe. seck, f. sec dry (cf. sp. seco, it. secco), from l. siccus dry, harsh; perhaps akin to gr. 'ischno`s, skr. sikata sand, ir. sesc dry, w. hysp. cf. desiccate.] a name formerly given to various dry spanish wines. "sherris sack."sack posset, a posset made of sack, and some other ingredients.sack \sack\, v. t.
2. to put in a sack; to bag; as, to sack corn. bolsters sacked in cloth, blue and crimson. wallace.
3. to bear or carry in a sack upon the back or the shoulders. [colloq.]sack \sack\, n. [f. sac plunder, pillage, originally, a pack, packet, booty packed up, fr. l. saccus. see:
sack a bag.] the pillage or plunder, as of a town or city; the storm and plunder of a town; devastation; ravage. the town was stormed, and delivered up to sack, -- by which phrase is to be understood the perpetration of all those outrages which the ruthless code of war allowed, in that age, on the persons and property of the defenseless inhabitants, without regard to sex or age.sack \sack\, n. [oe. sak, sek, as. sacc, s?cc, l. saccus, gr. sa`kkos from heb. sak; cf. f. sac, from the latin. cf. sac, satchel, sack to plunder.].
4. a bag for holding and carrying goods of any kind; a receptacle made of some kind of pliable material, as cloth, leather, and the like; a large pouch.
5. a measure of varying capacity, according to local usage and the substance. the american sack of salt is 215 pounds; the sack of wheat, two bushels.
6. [perhaps a different word.] originally, a loosely hanging garment for women, worn like a cloak about the shoulders, and serving as a decorative appendage to the gown; now, an outer garment with sleeves, worn by women; as, a dressing sack. [written also sacque.].
7. a sack coat; a kind of coat worn by men, and extending from top to bottom without a cross seam.
8. (biol.) see:
2d sac, 2.sack bearer (zo?l.). see:
basket worm, under basket.sack tree (bot.), an east indian tree (antiaris saccidora) which is cut into lengths, and made into sacks by turning the bark inside out, and leaving a slice of the wood for a bottom.
9. A name formerly given to various dry Spanish wines.
10. A bag for holding and carrying goods of any kind; a receptacle made of some kind of pliable material, as cloth, leather, and the like; a large pouch.
11. A measure of varying capacity, according to local usage and the substance.
12. The American sack of salt is 215 pounds; the sack of wheat, two bushels.
13. Originally, a loosely hanging garment for women, worn like a cloak about the shoulders, and serving as a decorative appendage to the gown; now, an outer garment with sleeves, worn by women; as, a dressing sack.
14. A sack coat; a kind of coat worn by men, and extending from top to bottom without a cross seam.
15. See 2d Sac, 2.
16. To put in a sack; to bag; as, to sack corn.
17. To bear or carry in a sack upon the back or the shoulders.
18. The pillage or plunder, as of a town or city; the storm and plunder of a town; devastation; ravage.
19. To plunder or pillage, as a town or city; to devastate; to ravage. the plundering of a place by an army or mob; usually involves destruction and slaughter; "the sack of Rome" a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases a woman's full loose hiplength jacket any of various light dry strong white wine from Spain and Canary Islands the quantity contained in a sack put in a sack; "The grocer sacked the onions" plunder after capture; "the barbarians sacked Rome".
20. 1. A sack is a large bag made of rough woven material. Sacks are used to carry or store things such as vegetables or coal. a sack of potatoes.
21. If your employers sack you, they tell you that you can no longer work for them because you have done something that they did not like or because your work was not good enough. Earlier today the Prime Minister sacked 18 government officials for corruption = fire Sack is also a noun. People who make mistakes can be given the sack the same day.
22. Some people refer to bed as the sack. Any of various light, dry, strong wines from Spain and the Canary Islands, imported to England in the 16th and 17th centuries.