Wiktionary

carpetbag

See also: carpet-bag

English

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a carpetbag

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From carpet +‎ bag.

Noun

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carpetbag (plural carpetbags)

  1. A traveling bag made from scraps of carpet and widely used in the United States (and elsewhere) in the 19th century.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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carpetbag (third-person singular simple present carpetbags, present participle carpetbagging, simple past and past participle carpetbagged)

  1. (chiefly US) To come to a place or organisation with which one has no previous connection with the sole or primary aim of personal gain, especially political or financial gain.
    • 2018 February 23, Jason Horowitz, “Italy’s ‘Five Star’ Grows Up Into a Real Party, Scandals and All”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      The Five Star Movement has long railed against carpetbagging, but for all of Ms. D’Alessandro’s efforts to seem of the place — talking about her childhood in Naples and showing the bar where she had her first date — she clearly isn’t.

Derived terms

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Adjective

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carpetbag (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly US) Having the characteristics of carpetbaggers.
    carpetbag travels

Further reading

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