In today’s parlance, it means ‘to get fired’. The origin dates back to the 17th century when artisans used to come to work with their own tools for the job (usually in a sack). When an employer wanted to fire someone, all he did was hand him his sack and tell him to take his tools and leave.
The word sack itself has proven remarkably durable and well-travelled. We already saw the French sac and Dutch zak, which—along with the Old English sacc, precursor to today’s sack—go back to the Latin saccus (“sack, bag”). This, in turn, is from the Greek sakkos (??????), borrowed from a Semitic root that shows up in the Hebrew saq and Assyrian saqqu. The ultimate source—which I find incredible for such as simple, humble little word—may be Phoenician or Egyptian.
To sack, or “plunder,” a city may also be related. Some etymologists have supposed Latin’s saccus produced a verb, saccare, literally “to put in a bag,” referring to plunder being carried off in bags.
Credit : Mashed Radish
Picture Credit : Google
