valise
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of valise
1605–15; < French < Italian valigia, of obscure origin; compare Medieval Latin valēsium
Explanation
A valise is a small suitcase. If you're carrying a valise as you climb onto a train, you're probably heading off on a short vacation or a weekend trip to visit a friend. The noun valise sounds a little old-fashioned these days, but it's still a good way to talk about a satchel or overnight bag. You might pack a valise for a night at your sister's house, or carry a valise onto an airplane. In the 1600's, valise was often used to mean a soldier's small bag, and while the word has a Latin root, valisia, experts aren't sure what its origins might be.
Vocabulary lists containing valise
A Streetcar Named Desire
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At the college archives, Creamer showed us more of the Stevens artifacts housed there, including a valise marked with his name and a photograph of the congressman’s boot maker.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2021
It is weirdly classy, like a valise or an upmarket clutch.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 1, 2017
At 21 she fled to London with a handful of records in her valise and has been an expat ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2015
Sprightly Over the last five years, the designer Guillaume Henry has considerably freshened the house of Carven, and this jeune dame, now robust, has dropped her valise in SoHo.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2014
When they arrived, carrying all of their belongings in one valise, they both knew right away that perfect was not the word.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
He and his wife have schlepped materials home by train, “five big valises recently from Prague.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Models — male and female — strutted down the runway in leather cowboy hats, cowhide valises, and checkered denim jackets adorned with bull badges, their cowboy boots boasting shiny metal points.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
These valises are a reminder of how far Talley was able to travel from his childhood in Durham and how he did so with aplomb and self-regard.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2023
That includes the ominous black valises that figure prominently in the show’s set and the many obstacles and alterations this musical has experienced on a 13-year-long journey to Broadway.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2015
The preparations for the trip kept the family busy for two weeks, and the house became a clutter of trunks, steamer baskets, and valises.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
