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sporran

[spor-uh n]
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noun
  1. (in Scottish Highland costume) a large pouch for men, commonly of fur, worn, suspended from a belt, in front of the kilt.
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Origin of sporran

1745–55; < Scots Gaelic sporan; compare Irish sparán purse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sporran

Historical Examples

  • He sprang up and thrust the stocking and needles into his sporran.

    The Sleuth of St. James's Square

    Melville Davisson Post

  • This must be the Sporran following us close with grim disregard of danger.

  • At noon he sat down to eat his "piece," which he carried in his sporran.

    The Wee Scotch Piper

    Madeline Brandeis

  • I wonder if these bags are related to the Sporran of the Highlanders.

  • One of them dragged at the frogs of his kilt, and then at his "sporran."

British Dictionary definitions for sporran

sporran

noun
  1. a large pouch, usually of fur, worn hanging from a belt in front of the kilt in men's Scottish Highland dress
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Word Origin

C19: from Scottish Gaelic sporan purse; compare Irish Gaelic sparán purse, Late Latin bursa bag
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 sporran

n.

1818, from Gaelic sporan, Irish sparan "purse," of uncertain origin. Familiarized by Walter Scott (first attested in "Rob Roy").

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper