kappsäck

Swedish

en kappsäck

en kappsäck

Etymology

Calque of German Mantelsack, from kappa (“coat”) +‎ säck (“sack”). First attested in 1482.

Noun

kappsäck c

1. a carpetbag (or similar bag made of for example soft leather, typically with a top rim that splits open wide)
2. a portmanteau (traveling case or bag, often opening into two equal sections)

   packa pappas kappsäck

   pack dad's portmanteau [a tongue twister]

3. a suitcase, a bag (more generally, when kappsäck is used for rhetorical flair – see usage notes)

   packa kappsäcken och lämna allt bakom sig

   pack one's bags [idiomatically] and leave everything behind

4. (idiomatic, in "i kappsäck") out of a suitcase (constantly traveling, staying briefly in several places)

   bo/leva i kappsäck

   live out of a suitcase (be constantly on the move)

   livet i kappsäck

   life out of a suitcase (life on the move)

Usage notes

Somewhat old-fashioned connotations. Sometimes used instead of resväska (“suitcase, travel bag”), väska (“bag”), or the like just for rhetorical flair.

Declension

Declension of kappsäck
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	kappsäck	kappsäcken	kappsäckar	kappsäckarna
Genitive	kappsäcks	kappsäckens	kappsäckars	kappsäckarnas

References

• kappsäck in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• kappsäck in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• kappsäck in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)