Packaging

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Materials such as boxes, bags, or containers used to wrap and protect products during storage and transport ; the action or process of wrapping, sealing, or boxing goods for sale or shipment
2. The assortment of materials designed to enclose and safeguard products, preserving their condition ; the practice of enclosing items carefully for distribution and sale
3. Containers and materials surrounding products to maintain safety and presentation ; the procedure of preparing goods by placing them into suitable wrapping or containers

Etymology: "Packaging" is a plain formation: the word "pack," with the suffix "-age" added, which in English turns a verb into a noun for an activity or collection of things, as in "baggage" or "wreckage." The noun "package" seems to have been influenced by the Anglo-Latin "paccagium" and the Old French "pacquage," both terms relating to the fee or the act of packing goods for carriage. The sense of "packaging" as materials used to protect goods came later, as the word grew from the act of packing into the containers and wrappings themselves.

Synonyms: wrapping, container, case, box, enclosure

Antonyms: exposure, unpacking