bursar

American  

[bur-ser, -sahr] / ˈbɜr sər, -sɑr /

noun

bursars plural

1. a treasurer or business officer, especially of a college or university.

2. (in the Middle Ages) a university student.

3. Chiefly Scot. a student attending a university on a scholarship.

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bursar British  

/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

1. an official in charge of the financial management of a school, college, or university

2. a student holding a bursary

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbursar
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bursars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bursar

1400–50; < Medieval Latin bursārius a purse-keeper, treasurer ( see bursa, -ar ²); replacing late Middle English bouser, variant of bourser < Anglo-French; Old French borsier

Explanation

A bursar is the head of a college's financial office. When you pay your tuition for the semester, you'll send the money to the bursar. Colleges, universities, and private schools have bursars, who are responsible for the finances of the school. The bursar's job might include balancing the books, sending bills to students and their families, and receiving payments. You could also call the bursar the controller or the treasurer. The word comes from the Medieval Latin bursarius, "purse-bearer," from bursa, or "purse."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bursar bursars

Make it payable to the bursar instead of the student, and the tax treatment may be completely different.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

"The strike happened two weeks ago," Sister Maria Wehbeh, the school's bursar, who came to assess the damage, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

She was also the bursar at the Ryleys school in Alderley Edge, and was very into amateur dramatics, so was part of the Wilmslow Green Room Society.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2020

While her unlikely role as the quiet bursar to anti-immigration organizations has been previously reported, her motivation and engagement in the immigration issue remained largely hidden.

From New York Times ● Aug. 14, 2019

The bursar was an elderly, irritable man who became more irritable when he discovered he had to give money to me rather than the other way around.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

English prompted Kay to draft a detailed plan for a device that would produce text and graphics on a display screen, which sprung a budget of $230,000 from PARC’s tight-fisted bursars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2020

As they prepare to raise their fees again, bursars at some of Britain's top public schools have explained that the cost of complying with Health and Safety regulations is partly to blame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2010

With money a paramount subject at all colleges this year, pedagogs last week took special interest in the cases of two bad bursars.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Board of Education recognises the following grades of men and women teachers in public elementary schools: pupil teachers, bursars and student teachers, uncertificated teachers, and certificated teachers.

From Women Workers in Seven Professions by Morley, Edith J.

The five pound bursars were privileged in paying half fees; and if he could only get some teaching, he could manage.

From Robert Falconer by MacDonald, George