English Explanatory Dictionary

purse

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small bag for carrying money.
  2. A handbag (small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items)
  3. A quantity of money given for a particular purpose.
  4. A specific sum of money in certain countries: formerly 500 piastres in Turkey or 50 tomans in Persia.
verb
  1. To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude.
  2. To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles; to pucker; to knit.
  3. To put into a purse.
  4. To steal purses; to rob.
name
  1. A surname from Middle English.

Pronunciation

/pɜːs/ /pɜɹs/ En-us-purse.ogg /pɝs/

Word forms

purse purses pursing pursed

Etymology

From Middle English purs, from Old English purs (“purse”), partly from pusa (“wallet, bag, scrip”) and partly from burse (“pouch, bag”). Old English pusa comes from Proto-West Germanic *pusō, from Proto-Germanic *pusô (“bag, sack, scrip”), and is cognate with Old High German pfoso (“pouch, purse”), Low German pūse (“purse, bag”), Old Norse posi (“purse, bag”), Danish pose (“purse, bag”). Old English burse comes from Medieval Latin bursa (“leather bag”) (compare English bursar), from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa, “hide, wine-skin”). Compare also Old French borse (French bourse), Old Saxon bursa (“bag”), Old High German burissa (“wallet”).

Synonyms

pocketbook coin purse change purse handbag bursary grant funds pucker

Related words

bursa bursar bursary reimburse wallet

Derived words

beggar's purse belt purse change purse coin purse common purse cut one's cloth to suit one's purse cut-purse cutpurse devil's purse dispurse empty as a pauper's purse finger purse gaming purse hold the purse strings jail purse king's purse lighten someone's purse long purse loosen the purse strings make a silk purse of a sow's ear you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear manpurse man purse mermaid's purse murse pickpurse pick-purse power of the purse prison purse Privy Purse public purse purse-bearer purse crab purseful purseless purselike pursemaker pursemaking purse net purse-pride purse-proud purse puppy purser purse seine purse snatcher purse snatching pursestring purse string purseweb spider sea-purse sea purse shepherd's purse Sutton Hoo purse-lid tighten the purse strings pursy unpurse

Translations

Afrikaans: handsak Albanian: punjashe Belarusian: су́мачка Belarusian: то́рбачка Bulgarian: да́мска ча́нта Chinese Mandarin: 手提包 Czech: kabelka Danish: håndtaske Dutch: handtas Esperanto: mansako Estonian: käekott Finnish: käsilaukku French: sac à main German: Handtasche Greek: τσαντάκι Hungarian: erszény Hungarian: retikül Hungarian: ridikül Irish: mála Italian: borsetta Macedonian: чанта Macedonian: ташна Māori: pāhi Māori: puhera Norwegian Bokmål: håndveske Iranian Persian: چَنْتِه Polish: torebka Portuguese: bolsa Romanian: poșetă Romanian: geantă Russian: су́мка Russian: су́мочка Serbo-Croatian: то́рба Serbo-Croatian: то̀рбица Serbo-Croatian: tórba Serbo-Croatian: tòrbica Slovak: kabelka Slovene: torbica Spanish: bolsa Spanish: bolso Spanish: bulto Spanish: cartera Spanish: zacuto Swedish: handväska Tagalog: lukbutan Turkish: el çantası Ukrainian: су́мочка Ukrainian: то́рбочка Ukrainian: торби́нка Unami: mënutès Unami: èmsinutay Uzbek: sumka
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