purser

/ˈpɝsɚ/

//ˈpɝsɚ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"purser" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“purser” is uncommon English (frequency #60,401 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,401
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.

Key facts for purser
PropertyValue
Headwordpurser
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɝsɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#60,401
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “purser” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). purser lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

purser is uncommon English at frequency #60,401 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɝsɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.".

Zero misspellings are on record for purser in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From purse + -er. The correct English form is purser, spelled P-U-R-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.

Etymology

From purse + -er.

This word in other languages

sobrecargo(Español)commissaire de bord(Français)Purser(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "purser"?
"purser" is spelled P-U-R-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɝsɚ/.
What does "purser" mean?
As a noun, "purser" means: The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.
How do you pronounce "purser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "purser" is /ˈpɝsɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "purser"?
From purse + -er. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “purser”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-R-S-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpɝsɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list