Talk:bag

I may be wrong, but maybe «bag» in Norwegian and Swedish comes from Old Norse «baggi»? After all, both Norwegian and Swedish have evolved from Old Norse. 85.166.5.222 19:13, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

I'm not totally happy with all the Spanish translations provided for "Bag" : bolsa f., bolso m., saco m., talego m. "Bolsa" is the right and standard translation. "Bolso" is not any bag but a "handbag" in Spain, and a "casual (informal) large handbag" in Venezuela (in this country, an ordinary "handbag" should be referred to as "cartera"). "Saco" is equal to "bag" ONLY in certain contexts: a "sandbag" is usually translated as "saco de huesos" ; a "bag of bones" is usually translated as "saco de huesos", and a "sleeping bag" is translated in some countries as "saco de dormir" (in my country, Venezuela, we use the english expression "sleeping bag" without translation) ; besides these cases (I don't remember others) "saco" is rather equal to english "sack", or a "large bag" but not any bag. Then comes this odd word, "talego" (I've never used it), which according to Oxford English Spanish dictionary, can be translated as "bag" in Colombia, so it should be marked as a Colombian Spanish term ; beside this case, "talego" means "sack", and according to Larousse Spanish Dictionary "talego" or "talega" can mean a "cloth-made bag" or a "cloth-made sack", but again, not any bag.

There are some other regional variations to translate "bag", especially those shopping or supermarket paper or plastic bags : "funda" in Ecuador and Dominican Republic (note that in D.R., "bolsa" means "scrotum", you have been warned), and "cartucho" in Cuba.

So I think the spanish translations for bag demand some accuracy. I can make the edits myself, as soon as i have the time. Anyway, if you have a better idea, please let me know Andresalvarez 21:26, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

bag
"(slang, African American Vernacular) To be caught by the police." I am RFVing this because bag also means "catch", so I think this might be an error for "to catch", i.e. "the police bagged me", not "I bagged" (was caught) as currently defined. Equinox ◑ 02:27, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Striking as deleted for lack of verification. I found nothing like this on Google Books, and the sense is not found in the usually authoritative New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. bd2412 T 20:31, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

baggy
Given the Old Norse etymon baggi, it seems questionable to list "baggy" under descendants instead of see also or synonyms. Rhyminreason (talk) 20:48, 25 March 2018 (UTC)

-bag
-bag for example in sleazebag? --Backinstadiums (talk) 20:07, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

"Bag" in general sense is missing
I am looking at adding translations. Unfortunately, the translations don't seem to feature "bag" in a general sense, separate from the sense of "sack" (i.e., a flexible bag or sack made of plastic, hessian or other material used to store or transport fertiliser, coal, or various other materials). This kind of bag might be a handbag, a schoolbag, a backpack, or some other crafted container (not just a plastic bag) for carrying personal effects, etc. The kind of thing you might be talking about when you say "I'll put it in my bag".

As in English, many languages have a word for a "bag" of this type, but there is no really suitable place for putting such vocabulary under the translations. There are only very specific types of bag at senses 2-4: "handbag, suitcase, or schoolbag, especially a backpack".

Merriam-Websters gives "a usually flexible container that may be closed for holding, storing, or carrying something", but this is too general as it also covers fertiliser bags, which are something rather different from what most people would consider a "bag" (unless you are a farmer, maybe).

This lack of a general word for a custom-designed "bag" (senses 2-4) has led some editors to erroneously add the word for this kind of bag under sense 1, which refers to bags (sacks) made of flexible material.

Is there some way of rectifying this?

Note: Cambridge Dictionary gives:

1. a soft container made out of paper or thin plastic, and open at the top, used to hold foods and other goods: a paper/plastic bag a bag of apples/nuts Don't eat that whole bag of (= the amount the bag contains) sweets at once.

2. a container made of leather, plastic, or other material, usually with a handle or handles, in which you carry personal things, or clothes or other things that you need for travelling: She pulled a pen and notepad out of her bag and started jotting down information. I hadn't even packed my bags (= put the things I need in suitcases/bags). a shopping bag.

If there is no response here I will add the Cambridge Dictionary definition.

Bathrobe (talk) 03:05, 9 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I love your username. My experience is that when a certain foreign word can translate more than one sense of a given English headword, we list it under all of the applicable definitions, and that there is no need to create a separate template for cover-all translations. However, in this case, I would say sense 1 is broad enough in English to serve as a cover-all translation for the others you mention. The basic dividing line to me seems to be whether it's reusable or not, whereas you mention whether it's custom made or not .... but   I'm not sure it's so clear .... a grocery bag might have handles, a snack bag might have a zipper closure, and a lunch bag might be sturdy enough to hold heavy liquids. But they're all disposable, so they would fit under definition 1 and not be with backpacks and purses. — Soap — 13:36, 17 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, you're right, it's not totally easy to define. But I think there is still a distinction between the two senses.
 * I came across this problem when I was explaining "Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" (from the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep) to some Mongolians, and someone piped up and gave "цүнх" as the meaning of "bag". Цүнх is the general term for a handbag or bag for luggage, etc. -- not a sack for packing wool in. Three sacks or bags full of wool is a totally different concept from three handbags, or three briefcases, or three backpacks full of wool. The Cambridge definition captures that difference for me whereas the Wiktionary entry did not.
 * Someone has, in the meantime, added a new definition that replaces all of the first four definitions, which doesn't seem appropriate to me.
 * Bathrobe (talk) 13:34, 18 October 2022 (UTC)
 * The problem seems to have started way back with the initial definition, which basically described a "sack" or simple bag like a plastic bag or paper bag. Then someone added separate senses for handbag, schoolbag, etc., individually instead of adding a separate entry for such bags in general.


 * Since there are separate entries for "paper bag", "plastic bag" and "sack" on Wiktionary, perhaps the translations could be outsourced to these pages.
 * Bathrobe (talk) 04:10, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

RFV discussion: April–May 2023
Rfv-sense: To swell with arrogance. just in Chaucer? It is probably (talk) 20:52, 16 April 2023 (UTC)


 * Wtf is "puffy emotion"??
 * I assume Webster was referring to the Chaucer quote that OED includes under a Middle English verb bagge, which it defines as "to look askew". There is no Chaucer at OED's bag entry. This, that and the other (talk) 05:11, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

RFV-failed This, that and the other (talk) 09:45, 25 May 2023 (UTC)