Wallet
Awalletis a flat case or pouch, often used to carry small personal items such asphysical currency,debit cards,andcredit cards;identification documents such asdriving licence,identification card,club card;photographs,transit pass,business cardsand otherpaperorlaminatedcards. Wallets are generally made offabricorleather,and they are usuallypocket-sized andfoldable.
Wallets may include amoney clip,coin purse,chainfastener,strap,snap,rein,orzipper.There are specialized wallets for holdingpassports,wearable ID cards, andcheckbooks.Some unusual wallets are worn on thewristorshoe.Wallets may be used as afashion accessory,or to demonstrate thestyle,wealth,orsocial statusof the owner.
Etymology
[edit]The word originated in the late 14th century, meaning "bag" or "knapsack", from uncertain origin (Norman-Frenchgolette(little snout)?), or from similar Germanic word, from the Proto-Germanic term "wall", which means "roll" (from the root "wel", meaning "to turn or revolve."[1](see for example "knapzak" in Dutch and Frisian). The early usage byShakespearedescribed something that we would recognise as more like a backpack today.[2]The modern meaning of "flat case for carrying paper money" is first recorded in 1834 in American English.[1]
The ancient Greek wordkibisis,said to describe the pouch carried the godHermesand the sack in which the mythical heroPerseuscarried the severed head of the monsterMedusa,has been typically translated as "wallet".[3][4]
History
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Ancient Greece
[edit]The classicistA. Y. Campbellset out to answer the question, "What...in ancient literature, are the uses of a wallet?" He deduced, as a Theocritean scholar, that "the wallet was the poor man's portable larder; or, poverty apart, it was a thing that you stocked with provisions."[5]He found that sometimes a man may be eating out of it directly but the most characteristic references allude to its being "replenished as a store", not in the manner of alunch basketbut more as asurvival pack.
Renaissance
[edit]Wallets were developed after the introduction ofpaper currencyto the West in the 1600s. (The first paper currency was introduced in the New World by theMassachusetts Bay Colonyin 1690.) Prior to the introduction of paper currency,coin purses(usually simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storingcoins.Early wallets were made primarily of cow or horse leather and included a small pouch for printedcalling cards.[citation needed]
In recounting the life of theElizabethanmerchant,John Frampton,Lawrence C. Wrothdescribes the merchant as, "a young English-man of twenty-five years, decently dressed,..., wearing a sword, and carrying fixed to his belt something he called a 'bowgett' (or budget), that is, a leathern pouch or wallet in which he carried his cash, his book of accounts, and small articles of daily necessity".[6]
19th century
[edit]
In addition to money or currency, a wallet would also be used for carrying dried meat, victuals, "treasures", and "things not to be exposed". Wallets originally were used by early Industrial Americans. It was considered "semi-civilized" in 19th century America to carry one's wallet on one's belt. At this time, carrying goods or a wallet in one's pocket was considered uncivilized and uncommon.[7]
InSpain,a wallet was a case forsmoking paraphernalia:"Every man would carry a small sheaf of white paper in addition to a small leather wallet which would contain a flint and steel along with a small quantity of so-calledyesca,being a dried vegetable fibre which a spark would instantly ignite. "[8]
20th century–present
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The modern bi-fold wallet with multiple "card slots" became standardized in the early 1950s with the introduction of the firstcredit cards.Some innovations include the introduction of thevelcro-closure wallet in the 1970s. Pocket-sized wallets remain popular to this day.[9]
Forcryptocurrenciesthat only exist in cyberspace as entries in some online ledger, a "cryptocurrency wallet" is a computing tool whose purpose is to securely keep the owner’s secret key, to authenticate the owner, and to let the owner sign transactions securely. A "hardware wallet" is a single purpose computer to do this even more safely.
Contemporary examples
[edit]Wallets are usually designed to hold banknotes and credit cards and fit into a pocket or handbag. Small cases for securingbanknoteswhich do not have space for credit cards or identification cards may be classified asmoney clips:this may also be used to describe small cases designed to holdISO/IEC 7810cards alone.
- Breast wallet
- Also called a "secretary wallet", this is a wallet in which banknotes are not folded. They are intended for men's breast pocket in a jacket, or for a handbag. Breast wallets will often hold cheques and other monetary documents as they are too large for storage in a pants pocket.
- Bi-fold wallet
- a type of wallet in which the banknotes are folded over once. Credit cards and identification cards may be stored horizontally or vertically.
- Tri-fold wallet
- a wallet with two folds, in which credit cards are generally stored vertically.
- Front pocket wallet
- a case with no currency compartment and very few pockets for cards. Usually banknotes are folded and held in a wallet compartment.
- Money clip wallet
- similar to a front pocket wallet in terms of size, with banknotes usually held in by a clip secured by a strong magnet.
- Long wallet
- a larger wallet typically worn with jeans, fastened by a chain, strap, or leather band. Bills are held flat, and long wallets typically have a coin purse. Popularized by bikers to secure their wallets while riding amotorcycle,smaller chained wallets became popular in 1970s−'80spunk fashionand in the early 1990s with thegrunge fashionmovement as well asheavy metal fashion.Long wallets are popular with men in cash-based countries likeJapanand may reflectNative Americanaesthetic influence.
- Wallet band
- a type of wallet that uses a continuous elastic band, made of fabric or rubber, to secure cards and/or cash. Wallet bands reduce the bulk of a traditional wallet.
- Wristlet
- a type of wallet that can be secured to the wrist, to keep one's hands free.
- Travel wallet
- used bytravelersto hold essential documentation together, such aspassports,tickets,boarding passes,foreign currency,traveler's cheques,itinerary,travel insurance,hotelbooking information, and other similar items.
- ID case/neck pouch
- thin nylon or leather cases with plastic see-through compartments designed to hold anID card.Usually worn around the neck, many have extra pockets for holding small items, hence they also function as wallets.
- Shoewallet
- a small pouch attached to ashoeto be used as a wallet. Designed primarily to be worn during exercise.
- Digital wallet
- a computer file for maintaining digital currency.
- Cryptocurrency wallet
- a digital wallet where private keys are stored for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
- Hardware wallet
- a cryptocurrency wallet built as a separate physical device which identifies the owner, and lets the owner sign online transactions in a secure manner.
- Side by side wallet
- divides the contents into two stacks instead of one, so it is half as thick. May be made of very thin fabric. Patented.[further explanation needed][citation needed]
- L-Zip wallet
- a rectangular shaped wallet with a zipper that runs along 2 sides of the wallet.
- Metal wallet
- a slim wallet made from metal, usually aluminum or titanium. Can be found combined with other materials such as wood or leather.
- Credit card holder
- a rectangular shaped wallet for holding credit cards.
- Cardholder zip wallet
- a rectangular shaped wallet with a zipper for coins and credit cardholder.
- Checkbook
- a wallet that can hold standard-sized cheques
- Envelope
- a long wallet that has features similar to an envelope with a covering flap.
- Automatic wallet
- a wallet with a mechanism that ejects inserted cards with a button to display them for use. Also known as a pop-up or cascading wallet.
- Tactical wallet
- a functional wallet that incorporates a ruler, small saw, knife, bottle opener, or other tools. It is a thin, wallet-sizedmultitool,with similarities to aSwiss army knife.
- RFID blocking wallet
- a wallet acting as afaraday cagearound proximity-sensing enabled cards. Can blockNFC&RFIDsignals, preventing portable RFID readers from reading sensitive data.
Materials
[edit]The traditional material for wallets isleatherorfabric,but many other flexible flat sheet materials can be used in their fabrication. Non-woven textiles such asTyvekare used, sometimes including reuse ofwaterproof mapsprinted on that material.Woven metals,such as fine mesh made ofcopperorstainless steelhave been incorporated into wallets that are promoted as havingelectromagnetic shieldingproperties to protect against unauthorized scanning of embeddedNFC&RFID tags.Do-it-yourselfwebsites such asInstructablesfeature many projects for making wallets out of materials such asdenim,Kevlar,orduct tape.
Regional differences
[edit]Some wallets, particularly in Europe where larger value coins are prevalent, contain a coin purse compartment. Some wallets have built-in clasps or bands to keep them closed. As European banknotes, such aseurosandpounds,are typically larger thanAmerican banknotesin size, they do not fit in some smaller American wallets.
Metaphorical usage
[edit]The term wallet is also usedas a synecdocheto refer to an individual's overallpersonal budget.One of the definitions of "syndecdoche", by Sasse, uses a wallet reference as an example of the meaning of the term ( "an abbreviated speech in which the containing vessel is mentioned instead of its contents" ), such as when a person holds up their wallet to a person asking for money, while saying "here is $100".[10]A wallet is also used as an example in a definition for the related rhetorical device ofmetonymy:"If we cannot strike offenders in the heart, let us strike them in the wallet."[11]
Gallery
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A large wallet attached with a leather cord or magnet -
An RFID signal-blocking slim wallet -
A leather wallet -
A Japanese wallet with a coin purse -
A poster seeking innovative suggestions tells readers "An Idea May Mean Wealth In Your Wallet".
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"Online Etymology Dictionary entry for" wallet "".Archivedfrom the original on 2007-12-24.Retrieved2007-09-06.
- ^"ShakespearesWords.com".www.shakespeareswords.com.Retrieved2023-05-17.
- ^"CTCWeb Glossary: K".Archivedfrom the original on 2011-07-12.Retrieved2007-09-06.
- ^Apollodorus (1921). "Perseus". InFrazer, James G(ed.).Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus).Vol. 2. London: W. Heinemann.
- ^Campbell, A. Y.(April 1931). "The Boy, the Grapes, and the Foxes".The Classical Quarterly.25(2): 91.doi:10.1017/S0009838800013501.JSTOR637006.S2CID171946559.
- ^Wroth, Lawrence C.(August 1954). "An Elizabethan Merchant and Man of Letters".Huntington Library Quarterly.17(4): 301–302.doi:10.2307/3816498.JSTOR3816498.
- ^Mason, Otis T.(January 1889)."The Beginnings of the Carrying Industry".American Anthropologist.A2(1): 21–46.doi:10.1525/aa.1889.2.1.02a00030.
- ^Cushing, Caroline E. W. (1832)."Letter XIV".Letters: Descriptive of Public Monuments, Scenery & Manners in France & Spain.Vol. 2. Newburyport, MA: Allen.OCLC8401193.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-05-07.
- ^"A Brief History of Wallets and The People Who Own Them".Brave Soles Life.2019-02-20.Retrieved2023-05-18.
- ^Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomír Batka.The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology.OUP Oxford, 2014. p. 328
- ^"Tropes"./web.cn.edu.Dr. Wheeler.Retrieved3 April2020.
External links
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Media related toWalletsat Wikimedia Commons
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