purse, pocketbook handbag

[Joan H. Hall]

Luanne von Schneidemesser wrote a short article summarizing DARE's
findings about synonyms for /purse/ in /American Speech/ 55.74-76.
Here's the relevant passage:

"Purse, pocketbook, and handbag are all standard terms reported from all
parts of the country. Yet purse, according to DARE's 569 responses, is
not quite as frequent in the Northeast and coastal Atlantic states as it
is to the west of those areas. In the eastern areas, pocketbook (395
responses) appears about as often as purse; but farther west, it becomes
sparser. . . . Handbag, with its 114 responses is also scattered over
the United States, although it was offered 10 times (from a total of 18
interviews) in Maryland alone. However, its use is related to age. Of
the informants who reported using it, 88 percent were sixty or more
years old. That age group constitutes only 66 percent of the total DARE
sample."

Joan

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