purse-seine

[purs-seyn]

verb (used without object), purse-seined, purse-sein·ing.

to fish using a purse seine.

Related formspurse seiner, noun

purse seine

noun

a large seine, for use generally by two boats, that is drawn around a school of fish and then closed at the bottom by means of a line passing through rings attached along the lower edge of the net.
a technique of fishing that utilizes a purse seine to capture large schools of fish, especially tuna.

Origin of purse seine

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for purse-seine

Historical Examples of purse-seine

I've seen something like this once, when a purse-seine was hauled.
Creatures of the Abyss
Murray Leinster
But at last he grew accustomed to the tall immovable stakes in the channel which supported the purse-seine.
Neighbors Unknown
Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for purse-seine

purse seine

noun

a large net towed, usually by two boats, that encloses a school of fish and is then closed at the bottom by means of a line resembling the string formerly used to draw shut the neck of a money pouch or purse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for purse-seine

1870; see purse (n.) + seine.