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First use of “packing” as in carrying a gun

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1

A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.

I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?

Does anyone have corroboration?

etymology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

1

A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.

I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?

Does anyone have corroboration?

etymology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.

I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?

Does anyone have corroboration?

etymology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

New contributor

Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 3 hours ago

RichRich

61

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

2

1898:

He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
horse, and jumped off.

The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898

Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I always thought it was just short for packing heat.
  
  – KarlG
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

2

Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:

We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.

Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.

The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.

I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:

The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.

Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

add a comment | 

1

from Etymonline.com pack

Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
"to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"

and

1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.
  
  – KarlG
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.
  
  – Sven Yargs
  11 mins ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

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2

1898:

He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
horse, and jumped off.

The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898

Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I always thought it was just short for packing heat.
  
  – KarlG
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

2

1898:

He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
horse, and jumped off.

The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898

Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I always thought it was just short for packing heat.
  
  – KarlG
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.
  
  – Ubi hatt
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.
  
  – Hot Licks
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

1898:

He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
horse, and jumped off.

The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898

Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

share|improve this answer

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

answered 3 hours ago

Hot LicksHot Licks

19.5k23777

2

Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:

We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.

Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.

The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.

I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:

The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.

Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

add a comment | 

2

Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:

We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.

Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.

The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.

I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:

The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.

Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

add a comment | 

Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:

We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.

Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.

The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.

I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:

The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.

Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

answered 1 hour ago

KarlGKarlG

23.8k73566

1

from Etymonline.com pack

Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
"to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"

and

1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.
  
  – KarlG
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.
  
  – Sven Yargs
  11 mins ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

1

from Etymonline.com pack

Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
"to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"

and

1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.
  
  – KarlG
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.
  
  – Sven Yargs
  11 mins ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

from Etymonline.com pack

Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
"to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"

and

1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575

answered 2 hours ago

lbflbf

22.3k22575