# purse
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English purse, 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”), 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”), Dutch beurs (“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”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /pɜːs/
* (General American) IPA: /pɜɹs/
* Audio (General American):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s
* Homophone: perse

### Noun

purse (plural purses)
* A small bag for carrying money.
** 1550, Steuen Mierdman, 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.
* (US) A handbag (small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items)
** 1987 August 15, Robert Benitez, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 14:Master leathercrafter does handcrafted wallets, belts, purses, handbags etc., supporting self and helpers. Good enough to carve fantst art and portraits into leather.
* A quantity of money given for a particular purpose.
** 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 12: The Cyclops]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:It was a historic and a hefty battle when Myler and Percy were scheduled to don the gloves for the purse of fifty sovereigns.
* (historical) A specific sum of money in certain countries: formerly 500 piastres in Turkey or 50 tomans in Persia.

#### 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

* 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
* 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
* mermaid's purse
* murse
* pickpurse, pick-purse
* power of the purse
* prison purse
* Privy Purse
* public purse
* purse-bearer
* purseful
* purseless
* purselike
* 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
* tighten the purse strings

#### Related terms

* bursa, bursar, bursary
* reimburse

#### See also

* wallet

### Verb

purse (third-person singular simple present purses, present participle pursing, simple past and past participle pursed)
* (transitive) To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude.
** 1901, Matilde Serao, The Land of Cockayne, translator not credited, London: Heinemann, Chapter IV, p. 72,
    The serving Sister pursed up her lips to remind him of the cloistral rule, almost as if she wanted to prevent any conversation between him and the nun.
** 1916, Leonid Andreyev, "An Original" in The Little Angel and Other Stories, translated by W. H. Lowe, New York: Alfred Knopf, p. 85,
    Anton Ivanovich pursed up his lower lip so that his grey moustache pressed against the tip of his red pitted nose, took in all the officials with his rounded eyes, and after an unavoidable pause emitted a fat unctuous laugh.
** 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.
** 2002, R.M.W. Dixon, chapter 9, in Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, Cambridge University Press, published 2004, page 403:[…] Yidinj has just one prefix dja:- 'in the direction of' […] . There is a noun djawa 'mouth' in a number of neighbouring languages […] and it is likely that this developed into the prefix dja:-. The semantic motivation would be the fact that Aborigines typically indicate direction by pointing with pursed lips (in circumstances where Europeans would extend a hand or index finger).
* To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles; to pucker; to knit.
** c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], lines 1756-9:[…] thou […] didst contract and purse thy brow together, / As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain / Some horrible conceit: […]
** 1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter XIII.”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC:Upon hearing Billy's version, the sage Dansker seemed to divine more than he was told; and after a little meditation during which his wrinkles were pursed as into a point, quite effacing for the time that quizzing expression his face sometimes wore, "Didn't I say so, Baby Budd?"
* To put into a purse.
** c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], line 502:And I will go and purse the ducats straight,
* (intransitive, obsolete, rare) To steal purses; to rob.
** (Can we date this quote?), Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Scornful Lady”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene i:Why I'll purse; if that raise me not, I'll bet at bowling alleys, or man whores: I would fain live by others.

#### Synonyms

* pucker

#### Derived terms

* pursy
* unpurse

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* sprue, Rupes, Pre-Us, re-ups, pures, super, Super, Prues, super-, reups, rupes, puers

## Estonian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpurse/

### Noun

purse (genitive purske, partitive purset)
* outburst
* eruption
* explosion
* spurt, gush

#### Derived terms

* seemnepurse

## Finnish
### Etymology

pursua +‎ -e

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpurseˣ/, [ˈpurs̠e̞(ʔ)]
* Rhymes: -urse
* Hyphenation: pur‧se

### Noun

purse
* excess material that gushes or bursts out, such as plaster from under a brick
* (metallurgy) flash (material left around the edge of a moulded part at the parting line of the mould)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of purse (Kotus type 48/hame, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
purseeni
purseeni
accusative
nom.
purseeni
purseeni
gen.
purseeni
genitive
purseeni
purseideni purseitteni
partitive
pursettani
purseitani
inessive
purseessani
purseissani
elative
purseestani
purseistani
illative
purseeseeni
purseisiini purseihini
adessive
purseellani
purseillani
ablative
purseeltani
purseiltani
allative
purseelleni
purseilleni
essive
purseenani
purseinani
translative
purseekseni
purseikseni
abessive
purseettani
purseittani
instructive
comitative
—purseineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
purseesi
purseesi
accusative
nom.
purseesi
purseesi
gen.
purseesi
genitive
purseesi
purseidesi purseittesi
partitive
pursettasi
purseitasi
inessive
purseessasi
purseissasi
elative
purseestasi
purseistasi
illative
purseeseesi
purseisiisi purseihisi
adessive
purseellasi
purseillasi
ablative
purseeltasi
purseiltasi
allative
purseellesi
purseillesi
essive
purseenasi
purseinasi
translative
purseeksesi
purseiksesi
abessive
purseettasi
purseittasi
instructive
comitative
—purseinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
purseemme
purseemme
accusative
nom.
purseemme
purseemme
gen.
purseemme
genitive
purseemme
purseidemme purseittemme
partitive
pursettamme
purseitamme
inessive
purseessamme
purseissamme
elative
purseestamme
purseistamme
illative
purseeseemme
purseisiimme purseihimme
adessive
purseellamme
purseillamme
ablative
purseeltamme
purseiltamme
allative
purseellemme
purseillemme
essive
purseenamme
purseinamme
translative
purseeksemme
purseiksemme
abessive
purseettamme
purseittamme
instructive
comitative
—purseinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
purseenne
purseenne
accusative
nom.
purseenne
purseenne
gen.
purseenne
genitive
purseenne
purseidenne purseittenne
partitive
pursettanne
purseitanne
inessive
purseessanne
purseissanne
elative
purseestanne
purseistanne
illative
purseeseenne
purseisiinne purseihinne
adessive
purseellanne
purseillanne
ablative
purseeltanne
purseiltanne
allative
purseellenne
purseillenne
essive
purseenanne
purseinanne
translative
purseeksenne
purseiksenne
abessive
purseettanne
purseittanne
instructive
comitative
—purseinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
purseensa
purseensa
accusative
nom.
purseensa
purseensa
gen.
purseensa
genitive
purseensa
purseidensa purseittensa
partitive
pursettaan pursettansa
purseitaan purseitansa
inessive
purseessaan purseessansa
purseissaan purseissansa
elative
purseestaan purseestansa
purseistaan purseistansa
illative
purseeseensa
purseisiinsa purseihinsa
adessive
purseellaan purseellansa
purseillaan purseillansa
ablative
purseeltaan purseeltansa
purseiltaan purseiltansa
allative
purseelleen purseellensa
purseilleen purseillensa
essive
purseenaan purseenansa
purseinaan purseinansa
translative
purseekseen purseeksensa
purseikseen purseiksensa
abessive
purseettaan purseettansa
purseittaan purseittansa
instructive
comitative
—purseineen purseinensa :

#### Derived terms

* laastipurse

### Further reading

* “purse”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

### Anagrams

* persu, perus, perus-, super-