Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small bag, often having a shoulder strap, used for carrying books or clothing.
  • noun A woman's handbag that typically has an interior frame, a rectangular shape, a flat bottom, double handles, and a hinged or zippered opening.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small sack or bag; especially, a bag in which books (as school-books) are carried; also, any hand-bag.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A little sack or bag for carrying papers, books, or small articles of wearing apparel; a hand bag.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A bag or case with one or two shoulder straps, especially used to carry books etc.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom and (usually) a shoulder strap

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sachel, from Old French, from Late Latin saccellus, from Latin sacculus, diminutive of saccus, bag; see sack.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First recorded circa 1340, from Old French sachel, from Late Latin saccellum ("money bag, purse"), a diminutive of sacculus, itself a diminutive of saccus ("bag")

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Examples

  • A colorful addition to every woman’s summer wardrobe, Jennifer’s chosen Lucca Floral doctor’s satchel is a breath of fresh air with it’s brightly colored flower designs.

    Distinctive Assets Rocks the GRAMMY?s with the Official Talent Lounge and Gift Bag 2007

  • Personally I thought it was the fault of a certain satchel.

    you dumbasses made a mess of this thread | My[confined]Space 2009

  • By the way, a satchel is a bag--for a minimalist he really likes to waste words.

    Consumption: Now With More Minimalism! BikeSnobNYC 2010

  • In the satchel was a stunning array of portable electronic gear, including a Walkman (with requisite Madonna cassette) and two portable video-game players - one $89.95 Nintendo Game Boy and a color NEC TurboExpress worth $299.

    Special Issue: How Kids Grow Portrait Of A Geration 2008

  • A number of other incidents around the country, as well, notably on the outskirts of Baghdad, where an attacker, according to U.S. officials, threw what they're calling a satchel bomb underneath a U.S.

    CNN Transcript May 27, 2003 2003

  • Besides her nurse's bag, her satchel was the only baggage she had at that moment, and she knew that there was but little money in her purse.

    A Man's Woman Frank Norris 1886

  • It can even hold my heavy leather satchel, which is always crammed full of gadgets as well as all my necessities.

    Gear Diary Jessica Fritsche 2010

  • A tote, a purse, or a satchel is a nice alternative.

    Jezebel 2010

  • One of the things I wanted to do whilst ensconced in lovely Missouri with My Lovely Wife and Welcoming In-Laws is catch up on my reading, and one of the books in my satchel is the first compilation of movie writing by the great Kent Jones, whose ever-probing acuity illuminates not just individual films and filmmakers but the condition of cinema in the here and now its very self. and reading it is making me eager to re-experience some favorites Jones and I share (various Hou Hsiao-hsien works, for instance) and also to reassess some Jones enthusiasms that didn't really hit me where I or any part of me lived the first time around.

    In The Company Of Glenn 2009

  • When Mrs. Burton Francis went up to her sitting-room, a few hours later to get the "satchel" powder to put in the box that was to be tied with the store string, the sun was shining on the face of the Madonna on the wall, and it seemed to smile at her as she passed.

    Sowing Seeds in Danny Nellie L. McClung 1912

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