Bursa
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of the many small fluid-filled sacs located at the point where a muscle or tendon slides across bone. These sacs serve to reduce friction between the two moving surfaces.
"A bursa over the anterior aspect of the upper end of the tibia, between the patellar tendon and the tubercle of the tibia, is sometimes enlarged, and may be mistaken for synovitis of the joint."
- 2 a small fluid-filled sac located between movable parts of the body especially at joints wordnet
- 3 A diverticulum on the cloaca of young birds, which serves as a lymphatic organ and as part of the immune system, but which atrophies as the bird ages.
"The general relations of the bursa to the cloaca are shown in the two accompanying figures."
- 4 Any of various pouch-like organs for storing semen prior to copulation in the male or for receiving semen in the female.
"That portion of the dilated vas deferens which lies outside the cavity of the genital bursa is called the external seminal vesicle ."
- 5 A parament about twelve inches square in which the folded corporal is kept in for reasons of reverence.
"In solemn mass the deacon brings the book of the Missal to the side of the epistle, then goes backward behind the celebrant; the sub-deacon, indeed, goes to the gospel side, where he cleanses the chalice, fits it with the purifacatory, covers it with the paten and pall, folds the corporal, replaces it in the bursa, and puts it in the chalice covered with a veil, which he places on the altar or over the credentia, as before."
- 1 A province and metropolitan municipality in northwestern Anatolia Turkey, on the Sea of Marmara.
- 2 A city, the capital of Bursa Province, Turkey.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Bursitis is a painful inflammation of a bursa. A bursa is a small sac of fluid that cushions the bones, tendons, and muscles that are located near your joints."
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin bursa (“purse”), from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa); compare purse and bourse, which are doublets.
From Turkish Bursa, from Ottoman Turkish بورسه (Brusa), from Byzantine Greek Προῦσα (Proûsa), from Ancient Greek Προυσίας (Prousías, “Prusias”) + -α (-a). Doublet of Prusa.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.