[Sca-cooks] pocketbooks

[Terry Decker]

"Pocketbook" was first used in 1617 to describe a book small enough to fit
in the pocket.  It was later applied to pocketsize memorandum or record
books and the usage appear to have transferred first to pocket sized case
similar in size and shape to the small books and then to the larger
handbags.

Purse derives from the Latin "bursa" meaning purse or pouch and is used in
both Old and Middle English.  A purse is a bag for carrying money and the
term applies equally to men and women.  By usage, the word has also come to
mean the total of a sum of money, as in privy purse or prize-ring purse.
The gener differentiation occurs when men start carrying wallets rather than
purses.

Wallet derives from the Middle English "walet" meaning knapsack, probably
originating in Old North French.

Bear

>So, why is it called a "pocketbook"? Seems more like what paperbacks
>should be called. Pocketbooks aren't small enough to put in a pocket
>are they? And even if they are, they aren't generally carried in your
>pocket are they? What was the period term for such things? "Purses"?
>for both men and women?
>Stefan