packrattery en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English packrat Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Old French -ier Latin -ia Old French -ie Old French -eriebor. Middle English -erie English -ery English packrattery From packrat + -ery.
Meanings
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(derogatory, informal, uncountable) The behavior of a packrat; a tendency to collect miscellanea or bric-a-brac, often to excess.
Most of our books are not on the floor, at least, but on one shelf I see “The Soul of a New Machine” next to “All the King’s Men” topped by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Why? I have no idea. It’s packrattery, but I can usually lay my hands on the volumes I need.
2023 February 2, Rebecca Clarke, “Alex Prud’homme Wishes He Was in the Room Where It Happened”, in The New York Times:Remember the first principle of packrattery: Stuff will accumulate proportionate to the space and place made available for it.
2006, Don Aslett, Weekend Makeover: Take Your Home from Messy to Magnificent in Only 48 Hours!:But packrattery soon precluded any Williamsburgish consistency.
1977, Joseph Chamberlain Furnas, Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the Nineteen Thirties: An Informal Social History of the United States 1929–1941:Many stories were tape-recorded at family reunions through the years (we also are record keepers, given a little leeway for chaos and packrattery).
1999, Ina Dillard Russell, Roots and Ever Green: The Selected Letters of Ina Dillard Russell: