pocketbook
UK /ˈpɒ.kɪt.bʊk/ · US /ˈpɑ.kɪtˌbʊk/ noun
Forms pocketbooks pocket-book pocket book
- noun (chiefly Northeastern US) A purse or handbag.
- noun (dated) A wallet for paper money.
- noun (figuratively) One's personal budget or financial capacity; the amount one can afford.
- noun A small book, particularly (US) a paperback or (UK) notebook able to fit into a pocket (of any genre, from reference work to fine art). “The publishers brought out small format pocketbooks of the whole of their nature series.”
- noun (Philippines, by extension) A romance novel published as a small paperback.
Synonyms
pocket wallet billfold notecase pocket book pocket edition bag handbag purse
Etymology
1610s, from pocket + book, popularized in its sense as a paperback by the success of Pocket Books in the United States after its 1939 launch.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pocketbook”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details