purse

noun

1. A small bag for carrying money.

   “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 handbag (small bag usually used by women for carrying various small personal items)

   “Master leathercrafter does handcrafted wallets, belts, purses, handbags etc., supporting self and helpers. Good enough to carve fantst art and portraits into leather.”

3. A quantity of money given for a particular purpose.

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

4. (historical)A specific sum of money in certain countries: formerly 500 piastres in Turkey or 50 tomans in Persia.

verb

1. (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, https://archive.org/details/landofcockayne00seraiala 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, https://archive.org/details/littleangelother00andriala 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.”

   “When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle – that's the thing.”

   “[…] 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).”

2. To draw up or contract into folds or wrinkles; to pucker; to knit.

   “[…] thou […] didst contract and purse thy brow together, / As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain / Some horrible conceit: […]”

   “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?"”

3. To put into a purse.

   “And I will go and purse the ducats straight,”

4. (intransitive, obsolete, rare)To steal purses; to rob.

   “Why I'll purse; if that raise me not, I'll bet at bowling alleys, or man whores: I would fain live by others.”

name

1. A surname from Middle English.