valise

American  

[vuh-lees, -leez] / vəˈlis, -ˈliz /

noun

1. a small piece of luggage that can be carried by hand, used to hold clothing, toilet articles, etc.; suitcase; traveling bag.

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valise British  

/ vəˈliːz /

noun

1. a small overnight travelling case

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Etymology

Origin of valise

1605–15; < French < Italian valigia, of obscure origin; compare Medieval Latin valēsium

Explanation

A valise is a small suitcase. If you're carrying a valise as you climb onto a train, you're probably heading off on a short vacation or a weekend trip to visit a friend. The noun valise sounds a little old-fashioned these days, but it's still a good way to talk about a satchel or overnight bag. You might pack a valise for a night at your sister's house, or carry a valise onto an airplane. In the 1600's, valise was often used to mean a soldier's small bag, and while the word has a Latin root, valisia, experts aren't sure what its origins might be.

Example Sentences

A few steps away, a kosher carving knife, a pushcart, a pickle barrel and a battered traveling valise used by immigrants from Lithuania are lined up against a wall.

From New York Times • Jul. 18, 2022

They characterize the Bureau as “an extended community of autodidacts and guessworkers caught up in language inquiry and the unguarded arts,” and “a valise fiction and portable literary service in the public domain.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2021

I am willing to accept, as settlement, as many $20 bills as can be crammed into a standard-size valise and mailed to my home.

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2020

This he most emphatically proclaimed in his creation of the X, Y and Z Portfolios, a modern-day boîte en valise, after Duchamp, a “suitcase” of the artist’s most select wares.

From The Guardian • Nov. 17, 2015

She shoved the valise in the waiting beetle, climbed in, and sat mumbling, “Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now...”

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury