Rummage came into English in the late 15th century, from the Old French word arrumage, which was based on arrumer ‘stow in a hold’. In early use it meant ‘arrange items in the hold of a ship’, which gave rise to the sense ‘make a search of a vessel’ (which is still used in the context of customs officers going about their duties) and then to the main modern meaning. Rummage is connected to room, through the shared Middle Dutch root ruim ‘room’.