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Al Saguto, "The Seventeenth Century Snapsack" (January 1989)

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John U. Rees

This monograph discusses the origin of the word "snapsack" and 17th century references to knapsacks with a drawstring closure. The following passage, supplied by an acquaintance from Yorkshire, also discusses origin, colloquial usage, and modern ties: "The word 'snap' is used in Yorkshire dialect to mean food, (usually in the sense of a small meal or packed lunch) and I guess is the origin of the word 'snack'. The term 'Snapsack' was prevalent during the English Civil War, suggesting that it may have originally referred to a sack for carrying one's food. It seems probable that the term was originally more widely used, and merely survives in Yorkshire as a archaic form. certainly at least one of the people I know who use the term is younger than me and also uses 'thee' and 'thou'. The item called a 'haversack', after it was introduced as a distinct item, it seems was intended to carry food. No doubt this was due to the issue of raw meat without any packaging; there are several references to 'greasy' haversacks from the 19th C, one would want to keep that away from the items of clothing etc. It may be there's a derivation from the term 'havercake', which was apparently an oat cake popular in the North of England in the 19th C which itself seems to have a Norse derivation; the Danish Army are still issued 'Havrekjeks' in their ration packs. Certainly a packed lunch in the British Army is still known officially as a 'haversack ration'."

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Al Saguto, "The Seventeenth Century Snapsack" (January 1989)

Uploaded by

John U. Rees
721 views4 pages
This monograph discusses the origin of the word "snapsack" and 17th century references to knapsacks with a drawstring closure. The following passage, supplied by an acquaintance from Yorkshire, also discusses origin, colloquial usage, and modern ties: "The word 'snap' is used in Yorkshire dialect to mean food, (usually in the sense of a small meal or packed lunch) and I guess is the origin of the word 'snack'. The term 'Snapsack' was prevalent during the English Civil War, suggesting that it may have originally referred to a sack for carrying one's food. It seems probable that the term was originally more widely used, and merely survives in Yorkshire as a archaic form. certainly at least one of the people I know who use the term is younger than me and also uses 'thee' and 'thou'. The item called a 'haversack', after it was introduced as a distinct item, it seems was intended to carry food. No doubt this was due to the issue of raw meat without any packaging; there are several references to 'greasy' haversacks from the 19th C, one would want to keep that away from the items of clothing etc. It may be there's a derivation from the term 'havercake', which was apparently an oat cake popular in the North of England in the 19th C which itself seems to have a Norse derivation; the Danish Army are still issued 'Havrekjeks' in their ration packs. Certainly a packed lunch in the British Army is still known officially as a 'haversack ration'."

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This monograph discusses the origin of the word "snapsack" and 17th century references to knapsacks with a drawstring closure. The following passage, supplied by an acquaintance from Yorkshire, also discusses origin, colloquial usage, and modern ties: "The word 'snap' is used in Yorkshire dialect to mean food, (usually in the sense of a small meal or packed lunch) and I guess is the origin of the word 'snack'. The term 'Snapsack' was prevalent during the English Civil War, suggesting that it may have originally referred to a sack for carrying one's food. It seems probable that the term was originally more widely used, and merely survives in Yorkshire as a archaic form. certainly at least one of the people I know who use the term is younger than me and also uses 'thee' and 'thou'. The item called a 'haversack', after it was introduced as a distinct item, it seems was intended to carry food. No doubt this was due to the issue of raw meat without any packaging; there are several references to 'greasy' haversacks from the 19th C, one would want to keep that away from the items of clothing etc. It may be there's a derivation from the term 'havercake', which was apparently an oat cake popular in the North of England in the 19th C which itself seems to have a Norse derivation; the Danish Army are still issued 'Havrekjeks' in their ration packs. Certainly a packed lunch in the British Army is still known officially as a 'haversack ration'."

Copyright:

Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
721 views4 pages

Al Saguto, "The Seventeenth Century Snapsack" (January 1989)

Uploaded by

John U. Rees
This monograph discusses the origin of the word "snapsack" and 17th century references to knapsacks with a drawstring closure. The following passage, supplied by an acquaintance from Yorkshire, also discusses origin, colloquial usage, and modern ties: "The word 'snap' is used in Yorkshire dialect to mean food, (usually in the sense of a small meal or packed lunch) and I guess is the origin of the word 'snack'. The term 'Snapsack' was prevalent during the English Civil War, suggesting that it may have originally referred to a sack for carrying one's food. It seems probable that the term was originally more widely used, and merely survives in Yorkshire as a archaic form. certainly at least one of the people I know who use the term is younger than me and also uses 'thee' and 'thou'. The item called a 'haversack', after it was introduced as a distinct item, it seems was intended to carry food. No doubt this was due to the issue of raw meat without any packaging; there are several references to 'greasy' haversacks from the 19th C, one would want to keep that away from the items of clothing etc. It may be there's a derivation from the term 'havercake', which was apparently an oat cake popular in the North of England in the 19th C which itself seems to have a Norse derivation; the Danish Army are still issued 'Havrekjeks' in their ration packs. Certainly a packed lunch in the British Army is still known officially as a 'haversack ration'."

Copyright:

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Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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