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Origin and history of unpack

unpack(v.)

mid-15c., unpakken, "display the contents by unrolling or untying (a bundle)," from un- (2) "reverse, opposite of" + pack (v.). In reference to luggage, etc., by 1791. Similar formation in Dutch ontpakken. Related: Unpacked; unpacking.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to unpack

pack(v.)

late 14c., pakken, "to put together in a pack, bundle (something) up," from pack (n.), possibly influenced by Anglo-French empaker (late 13c.) and Medieval Latin paccare "pack," both of which are from Germanic (compare Middle Dutch packen).

Meaning "pack compactly, cram or crowd together" is from mid-15c. Sense of "to fill (a container) with things arranged more or less methodically" is from late 15c. Meaning "to go away, leave" is from mid-15c. Meaning "to force or press down or together firmly" (of dirt, snow, etc.) is by 1850.

Some senses suggesting "make secret arrangement, manipulate so as to serve one's purposes" are from an Elizabethan mispronunciation of pact, as in pack the cards (1590s) "arrange the deck so as to give one undue advantage." The sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to the general sense of "to carry in any manner;" hence "to be capable of delivering" (a punch, etc.), attested from 1921, and pack heat "carry a gun," 1940s underworld slang. To pack it up "give up, finish" is by 1942. Related: Packed; packing.

un-(2)

prefix of reversal, deprivation, or removal (as in unhand, undo, unbutton), Old English on-, un-, from Proto-Germanic *andi- (source also of Old Saxon ant-, Old Norse and-, Dutch ont-, Old High German ant-, German ent-, Gothic and- "against"), from PIE *anti "facing opposite, near, in front of, before, against" (from PIE root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before").

More or less confused with un- (1) through similarity in the notions of "negation" and "reversal;" an adjective such as unlocked might represent "not locked" (un- (1)) or the past tense of unlock (un- (2)).

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    Middle English taken, from late Old English tacan "to grip, seize by force, lay hold of," from a Scandinavian source (such as Old Norse taka "take, grasp, lay hold," past tense tok, past participle tekinn; also compare Swedish ta, past participle tagit). This is reconstructed to
    takeout
    also take-out, in reference to food prepared at a restaurant but not eaten there, 1941, from take (v.) + out (adv.). The British equivalent is takeaway. Earlier it meant "designed to be removed or folded away" (1908). The verbal phrase is attested from 14c., as "remove from withi
    remove
    early 14c., remouven, remuvien, remēven, "take (something) away; dismiss" from an office, post or situation; from Old French removoir "move, stir; leave, depart; take away," from Latin removere "move back or away, take away, put out of view, subtract," from re- "back, away" (see
    out
    expressing motion or direction from within or from a central point, also removal from proper place or position, Old English ut "out, without, outside," from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Gothic ut, Middle Dutch uut, Dutch uit, Old High German uz, German
    smart
    Middle English smerten, "to cause pain, to suffer pain," from Old English smeortan "be painful," in reference to wounds, from Proto-Germanic *smarta- (source also of Middle Dutch smerten, Dutch smarten, Old High German smerzan, German schmerzen "to pain," originally "to bite"). T
    Prussia
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    pander
    "arranger of sexual liaisons, one who caters for the lusts of others," 1520s, "procurer, pimp," from Middle English Pandare (late 14c.), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in Italian form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the pr
    impression
    late 14c., "mark produced by pressure," also "image produced in the mind or emotions by something external," from Old French impression "print, stamp; a pressing on the mind" (13c.), from Latin impressionem (nominative impressio) "a pressing into, onset, attack," figuratively "a
    conservation
    late 14c., conservacioun, "preservation of health and soundness, maintenance in good condition, act of guarding or keeping with care," from Latin conservationem (nominative conservatio) "a keeping, preserving, conserving," noun of action from past-participle stem of conservare "t
    cosmos
    c. 1200, "the universe, the world" (but not popular until 1848, when it was taken as the English equivalent to Humboldt's Kosmos in translations from German), from Latinized form of Greek kosmos "order, good order, orderly arrangement," a word with several main senses rooted in t

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