purse

English

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English purs (“purse”), partly from Old English pusa (“wallet, bag, scrip”), and partly from Old English burse (“pouch, bag”).

Old English pusa comes from Proto-Germanic *pusô (“bag, sack, scrip”), from Proto-Indo-European *būs- (“to swell, stuff”), 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 (bursa, “hide, wine-skin”).

Compare also Old French borse (French: bourse), Old Saxon bursa (“bag”), Old High German burissa (“wallet”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pɜː(ɹ)s/, SAMPA: /p3:(r\)s/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)s

Noun

purse (plural purses)

1. A small bag for carrying money.
   • 1550 Mierdman, Steuen, The market or fayre of usurers

     And then muſt many a man occupie as farre as his purſe would reache, and ſtretche out his legges accordynge to the length of his couerlet.

2. (US) A small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items.
3. A quantity of money given for a particular purpose.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses Episode 12, The Cyclops

     It was a historic and a hefty battle when Myler and Percy were scheduled to don the gloves for the purse of fifty sovereigns.

Synonyms

• (small bag for carrying money): pocketbook; coin purse, change purse

(especially US)

• (small bag used by women): handbag (especially UK)
• (quantity of money): bursary, grant

Derived terms

• common purse
• make a silk purse of a sow's ear
• murse

Related terms

• bursa, bursar, bursary
• reimburse

Translations

small bag for carrying money

Afrikaans: Geldsakkie (af) Arabic: جزدان (ar) (jizdaan) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 錢包 (cmn), 钱包 (cmn) (qiánbāo) Czech: peněženka (cs) f. Dutch: handtas (nl) f. Esperanto: monujo (eo) Estonian: rahakott (et), kukkur (et) Finnish: rahapussi (fi), kukkaro (fi) French: bourse (fr) f., portemonnaie (fr) f. German: Geldbörse (de) f., Geldbeutel (de) m. Hungarian: erszény (hu) Irish: sparán (ga) m., sparáin (ga) pl.

Italian: portafoglio (it) m., borsa (it) f., borsellino (it) m. Japanese: 財布 (ja) (さいふ, saifu) Korean: 지갑 (ko) (jigap) Macedonian: паричник (mk) (páričnik) m., кесе (mk) (kése) n., портмоне (mk) (portmoné) n. Norwegian: pung (no), pengepung (no) Ottoman Turkish: بدره (bedre) Russian: кошелёк (ru) (košeljók) m., портмоне (ru) (portmoné) n. (indeclinable) Scottish Gaelic: sporan (gd) m. Serbo-Croatian: novčanik (sh), novčarka (sh), kesa (sh) Spanish: bolsa (es) f., monedero (es) m. Turkish: cüzdan (tr)

small bag used by women for carrying personal items

Afrikaans: Handsak (af) Czech: kabelka (cs) f. Dutch: handtas (nl) m. and f. Estonian: käekott (et) Finnish: käsilaukku (fi) French: sac à main (fr) m. German: Handtasche (de) f. Greek: τσαντάκι (el) (tsantáki) n. Italian: borsetta (it) f.

Macedonian: чанта (mk) (čánta) f., ташна (mk) (tášna) f. Portuguese: bolsa (pt) f. Russian: сумка (ru) (súmka) f. Serbo-Croatian: torba (sh), torbica (sh) Slovene: torbica f. Spanish: bolsa f. (Mexico), bolso m. (Spain), bulto m. (Southeastern Mexico), cartera f. (Latin America) Swedish: handväska (sv) c. Turkish: el çantası (tr)

quantity of money

Finnish: määräraha, budjetti French: bourse (fr) f.

Italian: borsa (it) f. Spanish: bolsa (es) f.

See also

• wallet

Verb

purse (third-person singular simple present purses, present participle pursing, simple past and past participle pursed)

1. (transitive) To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude.
   • 1979, Monty Python, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

     When you're feeling in the dumps

     Don't be silly chumps

     Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

Synonyms

• pucker

Translations

press (the lips) together

Finnish: suipistaa, mutristaa German: kräuseln (de) Serbo-Croatian: napućiti (sh), naškubiti (sh)

Slovene: našobiti Spanish: fruncir (es)

Anagrams

• rupes
• sprue
• super

---

Estonian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpurse/

Noun

purse (genitive purske, partitive purset)

1. outburst
2. eruption
3. explosion
4. spurt, gush

Declension

This Estonian entry needs a declension template

Derived terms

• seemnepurse

---

Finnish

Etymology

pursua, pursuta >

Noun

purse

1. (metallurgy) flash

Declension

Declension of purse (type hame) singular plural nominative purse purseet genitive purseen purseiden purseitten partitive pursetta purseita accusative purse purseen purseet inessive purseessa purseissa elative purseesta purseista illative purseeseen purseisiin purseihin adessive purseella purseilla ablative purseelta purseilta allative purseelle purseille essive purseena purseina translative purseeksi purseiksi instructive – pursein abessive purseetta purseitta comitative – purseineen