pocketbook

pocketbook

English

Alternative forms

• pocket-book, pocket book

Etymology

1610s,[1][2] from pocket +‎ book, popularized in its sense as a paperback by the success of Pocket Books in the United States after its 1939 launch.

Noun

pocketbook (plural pocketbooks)

1. (US) a purse or handbag.
2. (dated) A wallet for paper money.
3. (figuratively) One's personal budget or economic capacity - the amount one can afford.
4. (uncommon) A small book, particularly (US) a paperback or (UK) notebook able to fit into a pocket.

   The publishers brought out small format pocketbooks of the whole of their nature series.

   • c. 2005, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Risk Management Pocket Guide:

     The kit is produced in three parts including a pocket book designed to fit into a shirt pocket for everyday on-the-job use, a more detailed guide and a training CD. The kit includes a hazard reporting and feedback notebook and hazard management process prompt cards to remind workers of common hazards they may encounter in day-to-day operations.

   • 2011, Leslie Stephen, Swift, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 10:

     "I have now lost", he wrote in his pocketbook, "the last barrier between me and death..."

   • 2015, Graham Ison, Whispering Grass, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     Dave recorded the information in his pocketbook and looked Gibbs straight in the eye.

Derived terms

• pocketbook issue

Descendants

• → Gulf Arabic: بوك‎ (būk, “wallet”)
• → Najdi Arabic: بوك‎ (būk, “wallet”)

Translations

woman's purse

Finnish: käsilaukku (fi) German: Handtasche (de) f Hungarian: kistáska Russian: сумо́чка (ru) f (sumóčka), да́мская сумо́чка f (dámskaja sumóčka), да́мская су́мка f (dámskaja súmka), су́мка (ru) f (súmka)

one's personal budget

Finnish: lompakko (fi) German: persönliche Brieftasche f (figuratively), persönlicher Geldbeutel m (figuratively) Hungarian: keret (hu) Italian: portafoglio (it) m

small book — See also translations at paperback

Chinese: Mandarin: 袖珍本 (zh) (xiùzhēnběn) Dutch: pocketboek n Esperanto: poŝlibro Finnish: taskukirja (fi), pokkari (fi) French: livre de poche (fr) m, pocket (fr) m (colloquial) German: Taschenbuch (de) n Greek: βιβλίο τσέπης n (vivlío tsépis) Hungarian: zsebkönyv (hu), kiskönyv Italian: tascabile (it) m, libro tascabile m Japanese: 袖珍本 (しゅうちんぼん, shūchinbon), 小型版 (こがたばん, kogataban) Korean: 수진본(袖珍本) (ko) (sujinbon), 소형판(小型版) (sohyeongpan) Norwegian: Bokmål: pocketbok m or f Russian: кни́га небольшо́го форма́та f (kníga nebolʹšóvo formáta), карма́нная кни́га f (karmánnaja kníga), по́кет m (póket) (colloquial) Scottish Gaelic: leabhar-pòcaid m Swedish: pocketbok (sv) c, pocket (sv) c Turkish: cep kitabı (tr)

notebook — see notebook

References

1. “pocketbook”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
2. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “pocketbook”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.