huckepack

German

Etymology

From German Low German. The first component is Hucke (“load, burden”) or a related verb hucken (“to carry a load”). The second component is Middle Low German bak (“back”) by the consensus of the etymological standard literature. This derivation becomes particularly clear from the attested Low German construction enen up’n Huckeback nömen (literally: “to take someone on one’s piggyback”). The component -back was associated with Pack (“pack, package”) when the word spread southward, since Back was exclusively a Low German word (gradually going out of use even there).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhʊkəˌpak/
Audio (file)

Adverb

huckepack

carried on someone’s back (particularly another person); piggyback
Sie trägt ihren kleinen Bruder huckepack.
She’s carrying her little brother piggyback.