bursar
Americannoun
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a treasurer or business officer, especially of a college or university.
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(in the Middle Ages) a university student.
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Chiefly Scot. a student attending a university on a scholarship.
noun
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an official in charge of the financial management of a school, college, or university
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a student holding a bursary
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bursar
1400–50; < Medieval Latin bursārius a purse-keeper, treasurer ( see bursa, -ar 2); replacing late Middle English bouser, variant of bourser < Anglo-French; Old French borsier
Explanation
A bursar is the head of a college's financial office. When you pay your tuition for the semester, you'll send the money to the bursar. Colleges, universities, and private schools have bursars, who are responsible for the finances of the school. The bursar's job might include balancing the books, sending bills to students and their families, and receiving payments. You could also call the bursar the controller or the treasurer. The word comes from the Medieval Latin bursarius, "purse-bearer," from bursa, or "purse."
Vocabulary lists containing bursar
The Vocabulary of College
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I Will Always Write Back
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The Secret History
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The strike happened two weeks ago," Sister Maria Wehbeh, the school's bursar, who came to assess the damage, told AFP.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
That individual then took on the role of an inexperienced school bursar - an administrator - who pretended to not know what was going on.
From BBC • May 1, 2025
She was also the bursar at the Ryleys school in Alderley Edge, and was very into amateur dramatics, so was part of the Wilmslow Green Room Society.
From The Guardian • Aug. 21, 2020
While her unlikely role as the quiet bursar to anti-immigration organizations has been previously reported, her motivation and engagement in the immigration issue remained largely hidden.
From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2019
He nodded calmly and offered to escort me to the office of the bursar to ensure that there was no confusion regarding my admission “fee.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
