carpetbag

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a traveling bag made from carpet fabric, especially one used in the nineteenth century

   The traveler stepped from the coach carrying a worn carpetbag.

2. 2
   adj

   disapproving: opportunistically seeking influence or advantage in a place where one is newly arrived

   Local newspapers attacked the outsider's carpetbag ambitions.

A compound of carpet + bag, first naming an inexpensive traveling bag made from carpet material. After the American Civil War, carpetbagger became a hostile label for Northerners moving South, and carpetbag developed a related adjective meaning opportunistic or intrusive.

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