belt purse

English

19th century image of Sikh military men; the man on the left is wearing a belt purse

Alternative forms

• belt-purse
• beltpurse

Noun

belt purse (plural belt purses)

1. A small purse worn against the body, attached to a belt.
   • 1874 December, Harry Lemon, “Dismal Dan’s Big Diamonds: A Christmas Story”, in Cape Monthly Magazine, volume 9, number 54, page 373:

     I had wrapped the stones in a strong piece of soft leather, which I had stitched inside my belt purse.

   • 1959, Jefferson Cooper, chapter 12, in Captain Seadog‎^[1], New York: Pocket Books, page 155:

     His hand touched the belt purse that held his unsigned commission as he swung off the rope ladder to step into the smallboat.

   • 1985, Anthony Burgess, chapter 5, in The Kingdom of the Wicked‎^[2], New York: Arbor House, page 374:

     From his beltpurse he took the carved white bones with black dots on them.

   • 2009, Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Will McLean, chapter 6, in Daily Life in Chaucer’s England‎^[3], 2nd edition, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, page 141:

     Such pouches were also kept inside a belt-purse as a handy way to store coins.

See also

• sporran