purse-takingn.
/ˈpəːsˌteɪkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpərsˌteɪkɪŋ/ Now rare.
The action of robbing people of their purses.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > cutting or stealing purses > [noun]
cutpursing1499
purse-picking1571
purse-taking1598
purse-cutting1623
cutting1700
purse snatching1880
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. ii. 103 I see a good amendment of life in thee, from praying to purse-taking . View more context for this quotation
1634 J. Shirley Triumph of Peace 9 The Scene becomes a woody Landschape..with bushes and by waies representing a place fit for purse-taking.
1681 A. Behn 2nd Pt. Rover i. 13 If she be not fall'n to Prayer again, from thence to Flattery, Jilting and Purse-taking.
1868 Times 26 Oct. 6/1 An enlarged reproduction of ‘Ye Jollie Thieves’ cartoon, in which Mr. Gladstone as King Henry and Mr. Bright as Falstaff are represented as arranging the next purse-taking expedition.
1910 W. S. Davis Wealth in Imperial Rome v. 198 When the authorities undertook to clean up these localities, the bandits flocked into the city and caused more knifing and purse taking than ever.
1974 Star-News (Pasadena, Calif.) 14 June a6/4 Judge Schifferman said the purse-taking amounted to grand theft from one's person, and that under the law the resulting death was second degree murder.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1598