pocketbook

• pocket-book, pocket book

1610s,[1][2] from pocket +‎ book, popularized in its sense as a paperback by the success of Pocket Books in the United States after its 1939 launch.

pocketbook (plural pocketbooks)

1. (US) A purse or handbag.
2. (dated) A wallet for paper money.
3. (figuratively) One's personal budget or financial capacity; the amount one can afford.

   Synonym: pocket

4. (uncommon) A small book, particularly (US) a paperback or (UK) notebook able to fit into a pocket (of any genre, from reference work to fine art).

   The publishers brought out small format pocketbooks of the whole of their nature series.

   • c. 2005, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Risk Management Pocket Guide:

     The kit is produced in three parts including a pocket book designed to fit into a shirt pocket for everyday on-the-job use, a more detailed guide and a training CD. The kit includes a hazard reporting and feedback notebook and hazard management process prompt cards to remind workers of common hazards they may encounter in day-to-day operations.

   • 2011, Leslie Stephen, Swift, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 10:

     "I have now lost", he wrote in his pocketbook, "the last barrier between me and death..."

   • 2015, Graham Ison, Whispering Grass, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     Dave recorded the information in his pocketbook and looked Gibbs straight in the eye.

• → Gulf Arabic: بوك (būk, “wallet”)
• → Najdi Arabic: بوك (būk, “wallet”)

• vade mecum