What does cutpurse mean?

Definitions for cutpurse
ˈkʌtˌpɜrscut·purse

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word cutpurse.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. pickpocket, cutpurse, dipnoun

    a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places

Wiktionary

  1. cutpursenoun

    A thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Cutpursenoun

    One who steals by the method of cutting purses: a common practice when men wore their purses at their girdles, as was once the custom.

    Etymology: cut and purse.

    To have an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cutpurse. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.

    A vice of kings,
    A cutpurse of the empire and the rule,
    That from a shelf the precious diadem stole,
    And put it in his pocket. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

    Was there no felony, no bawd,
    Cutpurse, nor burglary abroad? Hudibras, p. i. cant. 2.

    If we could imagine a whole nation to be cutpurses and robbers, would there then be kept that square dealing and equity in such a monstrous den of thieves. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

Wikipedia

  1. cutpurse

    Aporus unicolor, common name cutpurse, is a highly specialised spider hunting wasp from the family Pompilidae.

ChatGPT

  1. cutpurse

    A cutpurse is an old term referring to a pickpocket or thief, especially one who steals by cutting purses or pockets, particularly in a crowd or public place. The term originates from the practice in old times where people carried their money in pouches or purses. These thieves would then cut the strings that held the purse to their person to steal the contents without being noticed.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Cutpursenoun

    one who cuts purses for the sake of stealing them or their contents (an act common when men wore purses fastened by a string to their girdles); one who steals from the person; a pickpocket

Etymology and Origins

  1. Cutpurse

    A thief who, in days before pockets came into vogue, had no difficulty in cutting the strings with which a purse was suspended from the girdle.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce cutpurse?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of cutpurse in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of cutpurse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6


Translations for cutpurse

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"cutpurse." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 21 Sep. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/cutpurse>.

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