Purse
Purse , noun
[Old English purs, pors, Old French burse, borse, bourse, French bourse, Late Latin bursa, from Greek {not transcribed} hide, skin, leather. Compare Bourse, Bursch, Bursar, Buskin.]
1.
A small bag or pouch, the opening of which is made to draw together closely, used to carry money in; by extension, any receptacle for money carried on the person; a wallet; a pocketbook; a portemonnaie. — Chaucer
Who steals my purse steals trash.
2.
Hence, a treasury; finances; as, the public purse.
3.
A sum of money offered as a prize, or collected as a present; as, to win the purse; to make up a purse.
4.
A specific sum of money
(a)
In Turkey, the sum of 500 piasters.
(b)
In Persia, the sum of 50 tomans.
Collocations (7)
Light purse or Empty purse , poverty or want of resources.
Long purse or Heavy purse , wealth; riches.
Purse crab (Zoology) , any land crab of the genus Birgus, allied to the hermit crabs. They sometimes weigh twenty pounds or more, and are very strong, being able to crack cocoanuts with the large claw. They chiefly inhabit the tropical islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, living in holes and feeding upon fruit. Called also palm crab.
Purse net , a fishing net, the mouth of which may be closed or drawn together like a purse. — Mortimer
Purse pride , pride of money; insolence proceeding from the possession of wealth. — Bp. Hall
Sword and purse , the military power and financial resources of a nation.
Purse , transitive verb
1.
To put into a purse.
I will go and purse the ducats straight.
2.
To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles, like the mouth of a purse; to pucker; to knit.
Thou... didst contract and purse thy brow.
Purse , intransitive verb
To steal purses; to rob. [Obsolete & Rare]
I'll purse:... I'll bet at bowling alleys.