wallet English · revision 7431

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386|origins=xno *walet}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈwɒl.ɪt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈwɑl.ət/, /ˈwɔl.ət/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English walet, of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) probably from an unrecorded Anglo-French or Old North French *walet, a roll or knapsack,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) perhaps from a Germanic base related to [[well]], to roll.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) Its form and original stress suggest a French source.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A bag or knapsack, especially a traveller's or pilgrim's: about 1386, in the prologue to Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A beggar's bag is from 1546, and ''to bear the wallet'' meant to be a beggar.^(OED 1989) A lawyer's bag is a 17th-century sense.^(OED 1989) A flat case for carrying paper money is first recorded in 1834, in American English;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) NODE dates this sense, originally American, to the mid-19th century.^(NODE 1998) An electronic or digital wallet is a recent use.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – a bag, knapsack.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1546 – a beggar's bag.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1834 – a case for paper money.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small flat folding case for holding money and cards.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A bag for carrying provisions on a journey.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[purse]]

+ * [[billfold]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}