Bagsful

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quantity equivalent to the contents that can fill a bag to capacity
2. An amount that fills one or more bags, typically used to denote a large bulk of items or substances
3. Describing the total collection of items stored within bags, emphasizing a significant volume or load

Etymology: "Bagsful" is the plural of "bagful," so it is the form you reach for when you have more than one bag's worth of something. The base word, "bag," came into English from Middle English, and the suffix "-ful" is an old and productive one: it has been attached to nouns for centuries to mean "as much as will fill" the thing named, as in "spoonful," "handful," or "cupful." Put the two together and "bagful" simply measures a bag by its contents. Middle English spellings of "bagful" varied considerably, with forms such as "bage-ful," "baggeful," and "bagg-ful" all recorded, which shows that writers were still settling on how to write the compound. The combination is entirely transparent, so there is no hidden story behind it, just two familiar parts joined to give a measure of volume.