1875, "act of making into a package or packages," from package (n.).

mid-14c., pakker (mid-13c. as a surname), "one who packs goods in bundles for transportation," agent noun from pack (v.). As "a machine used for packing," by 1890. The Wisconsin U.S. football team was named at its founding in 1919 for the Indian Packing Company (a meat-canning operation where one of the founders worked as a shipping clerk), which gave the team organizers $500 for uniforms and equipment and let it use the company's field on condition that the team be named for its sponsor.

mid-15c., paket, "a little package or parcel" (late 12c. as a surname), "in earliest use applied to a parcel of letters or dispatches, and esp. to the State parcel or 'mail' of dispatches to and from foreign countries" [OED], from Middle English pak "bundle" (see pack (n.)) + diminutive suffix -et; perhaps modeled on Anglo-French pacquet (Old French pacquet), which ultimately is a diminutive of Middle Dutch pak or some other continental Germanic word cognate with the English one. A packet boat (1640s) originally was one that carried mails from country to country or port to port, then generally a vessel starting at regular dates and appointed times. In data transmission, packet-switching is attested from 1971.

"horse used in carrying burdens," c. 1500, from pack (n.) + horse (n.).

common name for the North American bushytailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) 1885, from pack (v.); so called from the rodents' habit of dragging objects off to their holes. Used figuratively or allusively from c. 1850 of persons who won't discard anything, which means either the rat's name is older than the record or the human sense is the original one.

also pack-saddle, "saddle for supporting packs on the back of a mount," late 14c., pakke sadil; from pack (n.) + saddle (n.).

"a staff on which a peddler rests the weight of his pack when he stops," 1540s, from pack (n.) + staff (n.).

"an agreement between persons or parties," early 15c., from Old French pacte "agreement, treaty, compact" (14c.) and directly from Latin pactum "agreement, contract, covenant," noun use of neuter past participle of pacisci "to covenant, to agree, make a treaty," from PIE root *pag- "to fasten." Related: Paction "act of making a pact."

"to walk, travel on foot, tramp slowly or wearily along," 1550s, probably from Middle Dutch paden "walk along a path, make a path," from pad, pat "path" (compare path). Originally a cant word among criminals and vagabonds, perhaps of imitative origin (sound of feet trudging on a dirt road). Related: Padded; padding. English also formerly had the noun pad meaning "path, foot path" (1560s), which might be from this verb, or from the Dutch noun, or a variant of path.

"to stuff with pads or padding, increase the amount of," 1827, from pad (n.). Of writing, "expand by insertion of extraneous matter," 1831; transferred to expense accounts, etc. by 1890. Related: Padded; padding. The idea of a padded cell in an asylum or prison (1862, padded room) is to prevent those inside from injuring themselves by dashing against the walls.