Just wondering

Tue Jan 2 21:28:25 UTC 2007

As fate would have it, I'm quite familiar with the use of "(hand)bag"
in place of "purse" and / or "pocketbook." Had I been more alert, I
would have included all three terms in my question.

-Wilson

On 1/2/07, Lynne Murphy <m.l.murphy at sussex.ac.uk> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Lynne Murphy <m.l.murphy at SUSSEX.AC.UK>
> Subject:      Re: Just wondering
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I discussed BrE and AmE sense of 'purse' and '(hand)bag' (and someone
> brings up 'pocketbook' on my blog in Sept.(Self-promotion is an ugly
> thing.)  Since then my 12-year-old goddaughter and her mother have informed
> me that 'only old ladies say 'purse', we say 'bag').  They live in the
> Rochester, NY area.  They're also prone to unsubstantiatable claims about
> their own language usage and I heard my cousin from Indiana call her bag a
> 'purse' today, but I mention their claim anyway...
>
> Lynne
>
> --On Monday, January 1, 2007 1:22 pm -0600 Victoria Neufeldt
> <v.neufeldt at SASKTEL.NET> wrote:
>
> > I lived in the U.S. for about 16 years (1984-2000), in Cleveland and in
> > Springfield, MA; I remember being struck by the use of _pocketbook_ for
> > what I would call a handbag or purse.  In my experience in the U.S.,
> > _pocketbook_ and _purse_ were synonymous.  _Pocketbook_ (an Americanism
> > in this usage) seemed the standard term, far more common than _purse_.  I
> > don't recall a distinction in usage based on age (i.e., I wasn't aware
> > that _pocketbook_ was considered old-fashioned).  I think of _purse_ as
> > being somewhat old-fashioned in Canada (haven't done any research on this
> > though); my own general term is _handbag_ and that's probably the more
> > common term in Canada as a whole.  _Pocketbook_ for me is restricted to
> > its extended meaning of financial resources.  I agree with Wilson that
> > _purse_ means _handbag_; if I want to refer to a small container for
> > money, etc. that you carry in your pocket or purse/handbag, I would say
> > _change purse_, never just _purse_.
> >
> > Victoria
> >
> > Victoria Neufeldt
> > Editor, DSNA Newsletter
> > 727 9th Street East
> > Saskatoon, Sask.
> > S7H 0M6
> > Canada
> > Tel: (306) 955-8910
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Wilson Gray" <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 8:00 PM
> > Subject: Re: Just wondering
> >
> >
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> > header -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: Just wondering
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> --
> > -----
> >>
> >> FWIW,my wife, who's from Wilkes-Barre, speaking of Pennsylavania.
> >> doesn't recognize any distinction between "purse" and "pocketbook."
> >>
> >> Also, FWIW, I don't consider what I call a "change purse" to be a
> >> purse in the sense meant here. If my wife asked me to get her purse,
> >> it would never occur to me to look inside her pocketbook for her
> >> change purse.
> >>
> >> IAC, I'd say that it's clear that, for some people, "pocketbook" and
> >> "purse" name distinct objects and cannot be interchanged. Whew! That's
> >> a load off my mind! ;-)
> >>
> >> -Wilson
> >>
> >> On 12/29/06, GSCole <gscole at ark.ship.edu> wrote:
> >> > ---------------------- Information from the mail
> > header -----------------------
> >> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> > Poster:       GSCole <gscole at ARK.SHIP.EDU>
> >> > Subject:      Re: Just wondering
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> --
> > -----
> >> >
> >> > In my mind, a purse is smaller than a pocketbook; a purse may be
> >> > carried inside of a pocketbook.  A coin purse is the smallest purse of
> >> > which I'm aware; small enough to be carried in a trouser side pocket.
> >> >
> >> > George Cole
> >> > Shippensburg University
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Brenda Lester
> >> > Sent: Fri 29-Dec-06 17:19
> >> > Subject:      Re: [ADS-L] Just wondering
> >> >
> >> > 2) "Pocketbook" and "purse" are interchangeable.
> >> >   I've always considered a purse to be smaller than a pocketbook. A
> >> > pocketbook has all your work-a-day junk in it; a purse is for a few
> >> > necessary items.
> >> >
> >> > Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >> > 2) Is there anyone for whom the words "pocketbook" and "purse" denote
> >> > different objects? Not "can" or 'could," but _do_.
> >> >
> >> > -Wilson
> >> > ---------------------------------------------------
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> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >> -----
> >> -Sam'l Clemens
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
>
>
>
> Dr M Lynne Murphy
> Senior Lecturer and Head of Department
> Linguistics and English Language
> Arts B135
> University of Sussex
> Brighton BN1 9QN
>
> phone: +44-(0)1273-678844
> http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam'l Clemens

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org