cutpurse

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

From Middle English cutte-purs; equivalent to cut + purse: originally, purses were worn by a strap at the girdle, which the thief would cut.

Cut-throat, yes; cutpurse, no.” Gringoire tried to slip in some excuse between these curt words, which wrath rendered more and more jerky. — Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo
Uncle John.--The story of the witch that ground to death Two children in her mill, or will you have The tale of Goody Cutpurse? — The Little People of the Snow, William Cullen Bryant
A vice of kings, A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf the precious diadem stole And put it in his pocket! — Hamlet, William Shakespeare

pickpocket, dip

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