purser

[pur-ser]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR purser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an officer on a ship who handles financial accounts and various documents relating to the ship and who keeps money and valuables for passengers.

Origin of purser

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at purse, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for purser

comptroller, cashier, bursar

Examples from the Web for purser

Historical Examples of purser

He then ordered the purser's steward to splice the main-brace.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
The purser had come to the bridge, and now approached Cornish.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
The purser said that the dragon's name was Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling, with a hyphen.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr
The purser's room was well forward on the Atlantic steamship.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr
I may say, however, that the purser was not as silent as the captain.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for purser

purser

noun

an officer aboard a passenger ship, merchant ship, or aircraft who keeps the accounts and attends to the welfare of the passengers

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 purser

mid-15c., "treasurer," especially "caretaker of accounts and provisions on a ship," originally also "maker of purses" (late 15c.), agent noun from Middle English purse (see purse (n.)). From late 13c. as a surname.