Etymologically
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wallet

Etymology and origin of the English word wallet

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1386
Ultimate origin
Anglo-Norman (*walet)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈwɒl.ɪt/ (UK); /ˈwɑl.ət/, /ˈwɔl.ət/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English walet, of uncertain origin,[2][3][4] probably from an unrecorded Anglo-French or Old North French *walet, a roll or knapsack,[3][5][6] perhaps from a Germanic base related to well, to roll.[5][7][6] Its form and original stress suggest a French source.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bag or knapsack, especially a traveller's or pilgrim's: about 1386, in the prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[2][8][9]

Semantic evolution

A beggar's bag is from 1546, and to bear the wallet meant to be a beggar.[8] A lawyer's bag is a 17th-century sense.[8] A flat case for carrying paper money is first recorded in 1834, in American English;[2][3] NODE dates this sense, originally American, to the mid-19th century.[7] An electronic or digital wallet is a recent use.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – a bag, knapsack.[2][8]
  • 1546 – a beggar's bag.[8]
  • 1834 – a case for paper money.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small flat folding case for holding money and cards.
  2. (archaic) A bag for carrying provisions on a journey.
  • purse
  • billfold

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Wallet.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/wallet. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·