the.com/tote
the bag that swallows everything and admits to nothing
means To carry or haul something, especially by hand — or the bag (a "tote bag") you do that carrying in.
from "Tote" surfaces in 17th-century American English meaning to carry, and its deeper roots are uncertain. Many trace it to West African languages — words like the Kikongo "tota," to pick up — carried across the Atlantic with enslaved people, which would fit its early appearance in the American South; but this connection is plausible rather than proven. The "tote bag" sense — the bag made for toting — is a much later, 20th-century twist on the old verb.
- origin
- from Kikongo tota, meaning to carry
- black hole
- keys vanish, surface only when you give up
- status symbol
- canvas ones cost more than leather
- bottomless
- holds a laptop, lunch, and existential dread
- plural problem
- owners average four, use one
tote bag — canvas or cotton carrier bag popularized by l.l.bean in the 1940s, now ubiquitous retail and fashion item
tote board — mechanical or digital display at horse racing tracks showing odds and betting totals, used since the 1920s
tote bag ireland — irish tote, government-owned betting operator managing horse racing wagering across ireland since 1929