Attaches & Briefcases

The Attache & Briefcase: What's the Difference?

In the business luggage vocabulary, the two terms most often used synonymously are attache case and briefcase. This leads many people to believe they are the same thing, and in our era, for all practical purposes, they are. But the origins of attache cases and briefcases are different, and a brief explanation of each will help explain the subtle (some might say nonexistent) distinction.

Attache cases

Attache is a French word meaning a person within the administrative staff of an ambassador. The term is used primarily in the diplomatic field to designate embassy or consulate officials assigned to a specific area of expertise, e.g. cultural attache.

The attache case derives its name from its use by these diplomatic officials. A true attache case is thinner than a standard briefcase, and often has a simpler interior. Attache cases are composed of a hinged frame that opens into two compartments, the topmost of which may feature flaps or pockets for transporting papers.

Briefcases

The word brief is most often used in the sense of "a short duration," but it's also a legal term for the written summary of the facts and legal points supporting one side of a judicial dispute. The cases that lawyers or attorneys used to carry these documents were thus known as briefcases.

Justice is apparently a more paper-ridden or bureaucratic enterprise than diplomacy, because briefcases are larger than attache cases. The meaning of the word attache case has also remained fairly stable, whereas briefcase now covers a broad range of designs, from briefbags to briefcases with gussets that permit the briefcase material to expand for additional storage.

In essence, an attache case can often be referred to as a briefcase, but not all briefcases can be called attache cases. And if that makes sense to you, you're probably either a lawyer or a diplomat.