purse (English)

Where does "purse" come from?

The English verb purse traces its history through Middle English 'purs' and Old English 'purs'[1][3]. The Old English term was derived partly from 'pusa', meaning 'wallet, bag, or scrip', and partly from 'burse', meaning 'pouch or bag'[1][3]. The native root 'pusa' descends from Proto-West Germanic '*pusō' and Proto-Germanic '*pusô', meaning 'bag, sack, or scrip'[1], which relate to other Germanic terms like Old Norse 'posi' and Dutch 'beurs'[1]. Meanwhile, the alternate Old English root 'burse' traces back to Medieval Latin 'bursa', meaning 'leather bag', and ultimately to Ancient Greek 'βύρσα', meaning 'hide' or 'wine-skin'[1].

Open questions

• The Proto-Germanic root pusô is derived from an unattested strong verb peusaną of uncertain origin, possibly related to an onomatopoeic Proto-Indo-European root meaning to inflate or swell. [5] [8]
• The Ancient Greek word búrsa is considered a loanword of unknown and possibly Pre-Greek origin. [6]

Full etymology tree

• purse (English), 'To press (one's lips) in and together so that they protrude.'
  • inherited purs (Middle English), 'bag, sack, pouch'
    • inherited purs (Old English), 'purse, leather bag'
      • derived pusa (Old English), 'purse, bag, scrip'
        • inherited *pusō (Proto-West Germanic)
          • inherited *pusô (Proto-Germanic), 'bag, sack, scrip'
            • derived *pus- (Proto-Germanic), 'to blow, inflate'
              • derived *peusaną (Proto-Germanic)
      • derived burse (Old English), 'bag, pouch'
        • inherited bursa (Latin), 'oxhide, animal skin'
          • borrowed βύρσα (búrsa) (Ancient Greek), 'the skin stripped off a hide, leather'

Ancestors

• purs (Middle English)
• purs (Old English)
• *pusô (Proto-Germanic)
• bursa (Latin)
• βύρσα (Ancient Greek)

Cognates and doublets

• pose (Danish)
• beurs (Dutch)
• bursar (English)
• bourse (French)
• burse (Old English)
• pusa (Old English)
• borse (Old French)

Descendants and derived words

• pursy (English)
• pursy (English)
• unpurse (English)

Sources

1. purse (English) - Wiktionary
2. bursa (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. purs (Middle English) - Wiktionary
4. purs (Old English) - Wiktionary
5. pusô (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
6. βύρσα (búrsa) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
7. pusa (Old English) - Wiktionary
8. pus- (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris