Bûrse, n.

n. [L. Lat. bursa; Fr. bourse, Ger. börse, D. beurs, purse, an exchange. See BURSCH and BOURSE.] 1. A purse; a vesicle; a pod; a hull. [Obs.] Holland.

2. A fund or foundation for the maintenance of poor scholars in their studies. [France.]
3. (Middle Ages.) A little college, or a hall in a university.
4. A public edifice in the cities of continental Europe, for the meeting of merchants to consult on matters of trade and money, and to negotiate bills of exchange, called in England and America an exchange. [Also written bourse.]

Trampling the bourse’s marble twice a day. Bp. Hall. ☞ Applied formerly, in London usage, to the shops over the New Exchange, which were of great resort for female finery; a kind of bazaar. She says she went to the burse for patterns. Old Play.