What does burse mean?
A burse is a purse or pouch, most familiar today from its specialized use in Christian liturgy, where it names the flat, often richly embroidered case that holds the folded corporal — the linen cloth spread on the altar at the Eucharist. The word also carries an older, chiefly British sense: an endowed sum of money granted to support a student or scholar, a meaning closely related to "bursary," which has since become the ordinary term for such funding. Because of these associations, "burse" reads as formal, ecclesiastical, or antiquarian rather than everyday vocabulary. It appears most naturally in discussions of vestments and church furnishings, in descriptions of historic colleges and their benefactions, and in translations of older texts. Its relatives include "purse," "bursar," "bursary," and "disburse," all tracing back to the same root denoting a hide or bag for money. For readers of church, academic, or historical prose, recognizing "burse" prevents confusion with similar-looking words and illuminates how language for money-pouches migrated into both sacred and scholarly contexts.
nounA burse is a purse or pouch, especially the flat, often richly decorated case used to carry the folded corporal cloth during the celebration of the Eucharist. In an older or chiefly British sense, it also denotes a sum of money set aside as an endowment, allowance, or scholarship.
- A flat, decorated case, typically of stiffened fabric, used to carry the folded corporal in the liturgy of the Eucharist; by extension, any ornamental purse or pouch.
- An endowed sum of money, allowance, or scholarship supporting a student or scholar (now largely superseded by 'bursary').
"The deacon placed the consecrated corporal into the silk burse before setting it on the altar."
"The sacristy drawer held several embroidered burses, each matched to the chasubles of its season."
"In his will, the merchant left a burse of fifty pounds to maintain a poor scholar at Oxford."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple purses, liturgical cases, or endowments.
"Several antique burses were displayed alongside the vestments."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of burse
"Burse" comes from Latin "bursa," meaning a hide or leather bag for holding money, itself borrowed from Greek "byrsa." The same Latin source gave English "purse," and through medieval usage produced "bursar," "bursary," "disburse," and "reimburse." The word entered Middle English from Old French "burse" or "bourse," and its financial sense connects it directly to the stock exchange sense of "bourse" still seen in continental Europe.
How burse is actually used
"Burse" belongs mainly to ecclesiastical and antiquarian vocabulary; outside liturgical contexts it sounds archaic or technical. The financial sense survives chiefly in historical writing about endowments and scholarships, where "bursary" is now the standard term. The plural is regular: "burses."