The Collaborative International Dictionary
Purse \Purse\, n. [OE. purs, pors, OF. burse, borse, bourse, F. bourse, LL. bursa, fr. Gr. ? hide, skin, leather. Cf. Bourse, Bursch, Bursar, Buskin.]
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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. Hence, a treasury; finances; as, the public purse.
A sum of money offered as a prize, or collected as a present; as, to win the purse; to make up a purse.
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A specific sum of money; as:
In Turkey, the sum of 500 piasters.
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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 (Zo["o]l.), 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. (Zo["o]l.) See Pocket gopher, under Pocket.
Sword and purse, the military power and financial resources of a nation.
Usage examples of "empty purse".
She mops up the blood then bends down to pick up the empty purse that I've discarded on the floor.
Bang-Bang slung the empty purse over his shoulder and entered the long, dark tunnel.
He wanted two dollars and Bang-Bang, with the empty purse, had to hike up his dress, fumble in the pockets of the bulletproof suit for his wallet and get out two one-dollar bills.
If one were lucky, one could burn them all by morning, new and old, and wake with a light conscience, an empty purse, and a well-earned headache.
And the videotapes now stood in a neat stack on the shelf behind an empty purse, folded underwear, a hair dryer.
Sometimes, you just have to trust to a fast horse waiting to take you out of reach when some fool with an empty purse goes crying to whoever thinks they're in charge.
The mall-rat was overjoyed as he tossed the empty purse back to her.