PURSES

In American English, a purse is a small bag, also called a handbag.

In British English, a purse is a small money container similar to a wallet, but typically used by women and including a compartment for coins, with a handbag being considerably larger. A purse or handbag is often fashionably-designed, and is used to hold a number of items such as a wallet, keys, tissues, makeup, a hairbrush, feminine products, or other items. Purses are usually carried by women, though men sometimes carry one as a smaller alternative to a backpack; such a purse is sometimes self-consciously termed a "murse" or "manbag" ( portmanteaus "man" with "purse" and "handbag" respectively). It can also be called a "man-purse".

Crocodile skin handbags in a conservation exhibit at Bristol Zoo, EnglandCoin purses are small purses, just large enough to hold money and cards.A medium-to-small-sized purse with a short handle, designed to be carried (clutched) in one's hand is often called a clutch. A larger purse with two handles is often called a tote. A pocketbook is similar to a purse (in the British English sense), but allows the carrying of sheets of paper as well.