reticule

[ret-i-kyool]

noun

1. a small purse or bag, originally of network but later of silk, rayon, etc.

2. Optics.,  reticle.

reticule

/ ˈrɛtɪˌkjuːl /

noun

1. (in the 18th and 19th centuries) a woman's small bag or purse, usually in the form of a pouch with a drawstring and made of net, beading, brocade, etc

2. a variant of reticle

Word History and Origins

Origin of reticule¹

1720–30; < French réticule < Latin rēticulum reticle

Word History and Origins

Origin of reticule¹

C18: from French réticule , from Latin rēticulum _reticle

Example Sentences

Lady Constance reached into her reticule and extracted the same square, cream-colored envelope that Penelope had spotted on the mail tray the previous day.

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She reached into her reticule and drew out a folded letter.

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But when she saw the small, familiar packet that Miss Mortimer removed from her reticule, she understood.

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“Well, Mrs. Minturn just sat there with her hands in a bunch until Mrs. Cranston reached down for her reticule, which was just a whisker away from me. She handed her some money.”

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Gathering “what silver she could crowd into her old-fashioned reticule”—a handbag with a drawstring—she “then Jumped into the chariot with her servant girl Sukey,” said Paul Jennings.

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Related Words

• chain 
• grid 
• net 
• organization 
• structure 
• system 
• web