purser

[ pur-ser ]

/ ˈpɜr sər /

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.

RELATED WORDS

comptroller, cashier, bursar

Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for purser

Fact is, we have state apartments, as you might say, for I've rented the second lieutenant's and 70 purser's cabins.
Our Home in the Silver West|Gordon Stables
He prodded the purser in the chest with a finger that would have punched a hole through a weaker man.
Planet of the Damned|Harry Harrison
Houqua summoned his purser, and ordered him to bring the envelope containing promissory notes from the treasury.
The 'Fan Kwae' at Canton Before Treaty Days 1825-1844|William C. Hunter
The Admiralty sanctioned the change; but the purser seems to have failed to procure the substitutes.
A Voyage Round the World|George Anson

Her crew consisted of seven men, besides Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Rowlett, the purser.
Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836|Robert FitzRoy

British Dictionary definitions for purser

purser

/ (ˈpɜːsə) /

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

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.