Purse , v. i. To steal purses; to rob. [Obs. & R.]
I'll purse:
. . . I'll bet at bowling alleys.
Beau. & Fl.
Purse , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pursed (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Pursing.]
1. To put into a purse.
I will go and
purse the ducats straight.
Shak.
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.
Shak.
Purse (?), n. [OE.
purs, pors, OF. burse, borse, bourse, F. bourse, LL. bursa, fr. Gr.
&?; hide, skin, leather. Cf. 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.
Shak.
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; as: (a) In Turkey, the sum of 500
piasters. (b) In Persia, the sum of 50 tomans.
Light purse, or Empty purse, poverty or want of
resources. -- Long purse, or Heavy purse, wealth; riches. -- Purse crab (Zoöl.), 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. -- Purse rat. (Zoöl.) See Pocket gopher, under Pocket. -- Sword and purse, the military power and financial resources of a nation.
Hear it pronounced