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Glite Dictionary
🌌 A dark sky patch 🪣 A coal bag
coalsack

coalsack

8.8
A bag used for carrying coal to a house or fireplace
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊlˌsæk/
: saco de carbón
  • Astronomers observed the coalsack as a dark patch against the bright Milky Way.

Examples

  • The miner slung a heavy coalsack over his shoulder as he left the pit.

  • He filled the coalsack with fresh coal.

  • She read about the Southern Cross and the famous coalsack in her astronomy book.

  • The coalsack was heavy to lift.

  • The miner slung a heavy coalsack over his shoulder as he left the pit.

  • Astronomers observed the coalsack as a dark patch against the bright Milky Way.

  • In her astronomy tutorial, she learned that the coalsack is an area in the night sky where dust blocks the stars.

Synonyms

coal scuttle
vscoalsack
  • Archaic
1 9.1

A metal container with a sloping front for holding and pouring coal into a fire

is a flexible sack for carrying coal rather than for pouring

Surface Forms

coalsack singular
coalsacks plural

Morphology

coalsack = coal + sack (transparent) = coal + sack

Literal compound where the meaning 'a sack for carrying coal' follows directly from 'coal' + 'sack'.

Etymology

The word coalsack is made of coal and sack, meaning a 'bag' for carrying coal. By picture, a dark cloud in the Milky Way looked like a sack full of coal, which is why coalsack also names that dark patch in the night sky.