haversack

NOUN : A bag carried over one shoulder to transport supplies, as on a hike.
ETYMOLOGY: French havresac, from obsolete German Habersack : German dialectal Haber, oats (from Middle High German habere, from Old High German habaro) + German Sack, bag (from Middle High German sac, from Old High German, from Latin saccus; see sack1).

A word I came across. Though I'd never read the word before it was directly clear that it meant haverzak. Haver = oats, sack = zak.The etymology on the other hand is quite confusing.

f.i. From French havresac. Oats in French is avoine.
Havre (fr.) means a small harbour: "Le Havre".I don't understand the 'obsolete' in the Habersack sentence, because Haber = oats

And in English it is in fact still intact as 'sack of oats' but not used or understood in this way.

I have one little question about this:
I am interested to know more about the havre- harbour- oats
thing, for here is really a strange connection going on , for what I know.

That the French havre looks like the German word for oats is pure coincidence. What the French thought about calling an oat sack un havresac, well, you'd have to ask a Francophone that. I couldn't tell you. I've known the word since my boy scout days and never once thought it had anything to do with oats. It was just another word for a back pack.

The "other" OED has it coming from German, Branny: haversack
1749, from Fr. havresac (1680), from Low Ger. hafersach "cavalry trooper's bag for horse provender," lit. "oat sack," from the Gmc. word for "oat" (cf. O.N. hafri, M.Du. havere, O.H.G. habaro). "Haver is a common word in the northern countries for oats." [Johnson]
Online Etymology Dictionary

What the French thought about calling an oat sack un havresac ...

They called it a havresac 'cause they borrowed the word from German Habersack. According to the online dictionary I consulted, Le Trésor de la Langue Française Informatisé (link), "it was introduced by soldiers returning from Germany after the Thirty Years War".

I wasn't wondering why they called it that, I was wondering what they thought about calling it that.

I was wondering what they thought about calling it that.

Oh, sorry I misunderstood you. They called it that because that's what their one-time enemies les Boches called it.

They thought: If we must be mules to go to war and will be fed
oats if we are lucky to get any meal at all ,lets take that word from the those northern oatchewers. Makes no difference at all.
And so they marched off.

Or either that or, "It's a sack that is used to haul grain off a ship that's in the harbor," one.

zmjezhd, I don't mind looking things up, but could I take a short-cut by asking you who were Les Boches?


That a sailor's song, Faldage?

could I take a short-cut by asking you who were Les Boches?

Nope, just a possible eggcorn explanation of the word to the French.

I understand. Thank you.

Misschien moet u op meer oorlogsmovies letten, Branny.

It's more that I did not want to revive some old delicate matters with our neighbours. We had our word: Moffen = Boches Wat gedaan is, is gedaan.
I've seen The Longest Day at least fifteen times.