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 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,401
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.

Corpus desk

Index EN-purser · purser · English

purser · rank #60,401 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,401
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH punto

Nearest frequency peer: punto (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “purser”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “purser” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for purser
PropertyValue
Headwordpurser
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɝsɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#60,401
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “purser” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “punto” (#60,400), “Rackham” (#60,403), “proprietorship” (#60,398). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “purser” is #60,401. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

purser is uncommon English at frequency #60,401 among 4,417 “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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how purser appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. So the Comptroller and I thence to a tavern hard by, and there did agree upon drawing up some letters to be sent to all the pursers and Clerks of the Cheques to make up their accounts.
  2. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.[…]Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams.

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "purser", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ramada#60,405Prieto#60,393prance#60,387Pillai#60,368

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list