リュックサック

1924 is Shogakukan's early printed point for リュックサック: Seisenban cites Arahata Kanson's Roshia ni hairu with リュクサック. The source form is German Rucksack. Duden explains it as a sack-like container with two broad straps worn on the back, and gives an origin in Upper German and Swiss ruggsack, linked to Middle High German rucke, "back". The word entered Japanese through mountaineering, military gear, hiking, and school outing vocabulary in the Taisho and early Showa periods. Japanese also made shortened forms such as リュック and ザック, while ナップサック and ランドセル sat nearby as other bag words. The sound changed too: German has a voiced s-like sound in the middle, but Japanese settled on サック in standard spelling. Modern リュックサック can mean an outdoor rucksack, but リュック is more common for a daily backpack used by students or commuters. In British English, rucksack is ordinary; in American English, backpack is more common. Example: 通学用のリュックを買った. Japanese does not need a mountain context now, even though the German source word keeps that older outdoor association.