# What do you call people who make purses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801 "2017-09-08T10:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/1 "2017-09-08T10:39:29Z")
“You can’t make a silk purse from a sows ear” A well known saying, but who makes purses anyway? Jewelers make jewelry. Bakers bake bread. Cobblers make shoes. But what is the profession of a person who makes purses? ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/2 "2017-09-08T10:52:43Z")
A Purse Maker. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/3 "2017-09-08T10:54:55Z")
A site detailing purse makers \*I’ve set up this page to be the home of the Purse Makers mailing list…a mailing list I set up at onelist for folks who like to make and collect all kinds of purses. Purse Makers is a free list that can be found at [www.onelist.com](http://www.onelist.com). \* [http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/pursemaker/](http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/pursemaker/) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/4 "2017-09-08T12:10:31Z")
The first definition for “purser” in the _Oxford English Dictionary_ is “a maker of purses”, though it is listed as obsolete, with the last citation from 1638. So if you happen to encounter any 17th-century time travellers, you could make yourself understood with that term. But in the main entry for “purse”, the same dictionary lists “purse-maker” and “purse-sewer” as transparent compounds. So those are probably your best bets. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/5 "2017-09-08T12:17:21Z")
[Poucher](https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=poucher) is a Medieval occupational surname (apparently from Lincolnshire), for a maker of pouches, bags and purses. Not sure of [Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com)’s scholarship, but it is a surname I’ve seen in period sources. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/6 "2017-09-08T12:31:58Z")
Of course, just to stop confusion, seeing that the OP is Irish, the proper usage of ‘purse’ is a small pouch for money, generally but not always for females — usually kept in handbags, a small bag women keep purses in. ( Medieval men had purses too — _wallet_ for the male equivalent is only 19th century in this sense of money holder. ) But **Purse** in American refers to the handbag itself. I do not know what they call a purse. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/7 "2017-09-08T13:09:46Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Medieval men had purses too — _wallet_ for the male equivalent is only 19th century in this sense of money holder. Or later in the period, this would be called a _[budget](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/budget#Etymology)_. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/8 "2017-09-08T13:14:48Z")
I believe terms such as “handbag maker” or “purse designer” are used most commonly today. If the bags are made of leather, I’ve seen “leatherworker” used as the default term. For example, “She is a leatherworker who specializes in purses.” ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/9 "2017-09-08T13:46:42Z")
I’m a little surprise there’s no haut French word (analogous to couturier for a clothes-maker) that isn’t in common usage in the business. I thought everything had to be labeled in French or it didn’t count! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/10 "2017-09-08T14:12:29Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I’m a little surprise there’s no haut French word (analogous to couturier for a clothes-maker) that isn’t in common usage in the business. I thought everything had to be labeled in French or it didn’t count! 😕 Ah! You might be looking for “maroquinier”, a person who practices “maroquinerie”. But it’s basically the same as “leatherworker”, in the sense that it’s a person who uses leather to make bags, belts, and other items. Wiki here: [Maroquinerie — Wikipédia](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maroquinerie) A related term in French is “malletier”, a person who makes luggage and suitcases. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/11 "2017-09-08T15:09:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [Poucher](https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=poucher) is a Medieval occupational surname (apparently from Lincolnshire) They got a nice little song to go with it and everything: “The Lincolnshire Poucher”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/12 "2017-09-08T15:22:19Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > “You can’t make a silk purse from a sows ear” I think it was in an old Time/Life book that showed a sows ear being used to make artificial silk to make a purse out of. Throw an adage out like that and someone will prove it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/13 "2017-09-08T15:55:51Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > But **Purse** in American refers to the handbag itself. I do not know what they call a purse. A Quikoin, of course. Invented in Akron in 1951: > **[Ted's Promotions](http://www.tedspromotions.com/Quikoins.htm)** > > Quikoin Coin Holders and Quikoin Euro Coin keeper, custom printed Quikoins, custom imprinted Quikoin Coin purse Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/14 "2017-09-08T16:00:15Z")
In my limited experience, most American women either keep their money in a wallet that they keep in the purse, or in the purse directly. Though admittedly women’s wallets are of a very different sort from men’s wallets, so there might well be a different name for that accessory in some parts. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/15 "2017-09-08T16:29:28Z")
If I can hijack for a moment, I read, many years ago, that the phrase originally wasn’t “sow’s ear” but some French word (souzier or something? - google fails me) that got corrupted because it fit quite nicely. Any truth at all in this? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/16 "2017-09-08T16:37:40Z")
Note that purses and wallets are (originally, anyway) just different styles of bags or pouches. It would therefore be bizarre if the same craftsman, be he a pouch-maker, a purser, a leather-worker, a malemaker, etc., offered one but not the other. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/17 "2017-09-08T16:39:59Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > If I can hijack for a moment, I read, many years ago, that the phrase originally wasn’t “sow’s ear” but some French word (souzier or something? - google fails me) that got corrupted because it fit quite nicely. Any truth at all in this? [wiktionary.org](http://wiktionary.org) says no. > [@](#): > > Etymology > Coined by Stephen Gosson in 1579 in the book The Ephemerides of Phialo: Deuided Into Three Bookes p62v [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make\_a\_silk\_purse\_of\_a\_sow's\_ear](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make_a_silk_purse_of_a_sow%27s_ear) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/18 "2017-09-08T17:01:13Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Coined by Stephen Gosson in 1579 in the book The Ephemerides of Phialo: Deuided Into Three Bookes p62v Can you make out the quote through the funky font and poor-quality scan? My best guess is something like [QUOTE=Stephen Gosson] I am not so affraide of theyr reasons, as astonished with theyr folly, whiche builde up theyr Fortresses on bryttle ground seekinge too washe the face of a blacke Moore white, whose coulour no sope will take away, or too make a silke purse of a sowes eare, that when it shoulde close, will not come togeather. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/19 "2017-09-08T19:11:04Z")
I would think that the size of the purse would be determined by the organizer of a specific sporting event, and that they could come up with those funds via any number of means. So were you looking for event organizer? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801/20 "2017-09-08T20:14:20Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I would think that the size of the purse would be determined by the organizer of a specific sporting event, and that they could come up with those funds via any number of means. So were you looking for event organizer? 😉 No. I was not. Thanks for the suggestions folks. What prompted the question was a discussion on another forum about the manager of a sports team, and a tortured analogy that basically was saying that if he could not make a silk purse out of a sows ear then why would be any different for the next “purse maker” given the job. Purse-maker-type-guy wasn’t very pithy though, which got me wondering who did make the damn things. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-people-who-make-purses/795801.md?page=2)