Definition of "carpetbag"

carpetbag

noun
plural carpetbags
1. A traveling bag made from scraps of carpet and widely used in the United States (and elsewhere) in the 19th century.
  Quotations
  Pen jumped out of the carriage then, his carpet-bag in hand, and briskly determined to face his fortune.
  1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 74, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850
verb
third-person singular simple present carpetbags, present participle carpetbagging, simple past and past participle carpetbagged
1. (chiefly US) To come to a place or organisation with which one has no previous connection with the sole or primary aim of personal gain, especially political or financial gain.
  Quotations
  The Five Star Movement has long railed against carpetbagging, but for all of Ms. D’Alessandro’s efforts to seem of the place — talking about her childhood in Naples and showing the bar where she had her first date — she clearly isn’t.
  2018 February 23, Jason Horowitz, “Italy’s ‘Five Star’ Grows Up Into a Real Party, Scandals and All”, in New York Times‎
adjective
not comparable
1. (chiefly US) Having the characteristics of carpetbaggers.