The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gunny \Gun"ny\ (g[u^]n"n[y^]), n., Gunny cloth \Gun"ny cloth`\(kl[o^]th`; 115). [Hind. go[.n], go[.n][imac], a sack, sacking.] A strong, coarse kind of sacking, made from the fibers (called jute) of two plants of the genus Corchorus ( C. olitorius and C. capsularis), of India. The fiber is also used in the manufacture of cordage.
Gunny bag or Gunny sack, a sack made of gunny or burlap, used for coarse commodities. In the southern U. S. similar sacks are called crocus sack, croker sack, towsack, and grass sack.
Wiktionary
alt. A sack made from burlap, used for agricultural produce. n. A sack made from burlap, used for agricultural produce.
WordNet
n. a bag made of burlap [syn: gunnysack, burlap bag]
Wikipedia
A gunny sack, also known as a "gunny shoe", is an inexpensive bag made of hessian (burlap) usually formed from jute or other natural fibers, although modern sacks are often made from polypropylene; the "gunny" portion of the name ultimately descends from Tulu (Indian Language spoken in Mangalore) goni, "thread, fiber", by way of imperial British corruption of that word's descendants in later Indian languages. Gunny sacks are traditionally used for transporting grains, potatoes, and other agricultural products. Today they are also sometimes used as sandbags for erosion control. Gunny sacks are also popular in the traditional children's game of sack racing.
Usage examples of "gunny sack".
An' then we lit the fuse 'n' clumb out 'n' got off 'bout fifty yards--'n' forgot 'n' left Tom Quartz sound asleep on the gunny sack.
Gloves off, I kneaded my face vigorously with my mittened hands until I felt the blood pounding painfully back, then took the old jersey which Jackstraw dug out from a gunny sack and wrapped it round my face.
I dumped the pile of clothes I was carrying on a seat, nodded at them and the contents of a gunny sack Joss and Jackstraw were emptying.
An' when he'd git the blues, 'n' feel kind o'scruffy, 'n' aggravated 'n' disgusted--knowin' as he did, that the bills was runnin' up all the time an' we warn't makin' a cent--he would curl up on a gunny sack in the corner an' go to sleep.
Ace reached into the gunny sack, retrieved the number two bomb and nonchalantly flipped it into the back seat of an unattended Chrysler New Yorker limo parked next to the place.
Morose, silent, bemused, he could be seen out there every day, carrying a gunny sack that Splock had lent him.
Then he searched through the lodge and came back with an old gunny sack.
His gaze lit on Sugartit who was sitting in the straight-backed chair and staring with a fixed expression at what appeared to be a gunny sack filled with huge lumps of coal lying in the middle of the bed.
They found what they wanted, and pushed it all into a gunny sack that had held potatoes.
From the space below the floorboards he exhumed the leaden gunny sack and affixed it to his belt.
He snapped his fingers and went out on the porch for a gunny sack.
A few minutes later, when Tommy Rockford was passing the doorway with his metal detector, his captor came out with a dripping gunny sack which he had soaked in a bucket of water.
That night Morgan slept on the floor of one of the trucks covered by his blanket, his head on a gunny sack.
Then we were out of the residential buildings completely and into a _chawl_ of loosely piled rock walls, gunny sack apartments and multi-leveled condominiums constructed of old billboards, sheets of tin, and bleached scrapwood.
If that's what you came for, take a look in that gunny sack by your feet.