Past tense of pack, meaning to have filled containers with items for storage or transport. As an adjective, describes something tightly filled or crowded.
From Middle English 'pakken', likely borrowed from Middle Dutch 'packen' meaning to pack or bundle. The word has Germanic roots related to binding and bundling objects together for transport.
The phrase 'packed like sardines' reflects our tendency to compare human crowding to fish preservation methods, showing how food storage metaphors permeate our language. Interestingly, 'pack' can mean both to fill something up and to leave (as in 'pack up and go').
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