Editing Wallet

{{Short description|Small, flat case or pouch that is used to carry personal items such as cash, business cards, etc}}
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[[Image:WalletMpegMan.jpg|thumb|A trifold wallet with pockets for [[Banknote|notes]] and [[ATM card|cards]], and a window to display an [[identification card]]]]

A '''wallet''' is a flat case or pouch,  often used to carry small personal items such as [[physical currency]], [[debit cards]], and [[credit cards]]; identification documents such as [[driving licence]], [[identification card]], [[club card]]; [[photograph]]s, [[transit pass]], [[business card]]s and other [[paper]] or [[laminate]]d cards. Wallets are generally made of [[fabric]] or [[leather]], and they are usually [[pocket]]-sized and [[bending|foldable]].

Wallets may include a [[money clip]], [[coin purse]], [[chain]] fastener, [[strap]], [[Snap fastener|snap]], [[rein]], or [[zipper]]. There are specialized wallets for holding [[passports]], wearable ID cards, and [[checkbook]]s. Some unusual wallets are worn on the [[wrist]] or [[shoe]]. Wallets may be used as a [[fashion accessory]], or to demonstrate the [[fashion|style]], [[wealth]], or [[social status]] of the owner.

==Etymology==
The word originated in the late 14th century, meaning "bag" or "knapsack", from uncertain origin (Norman-French ''golette'' (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."<ref name="onlineetymology">{{cite web | title=Online Etymology Dictionary entry for "wallet" | url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wallet | access-date=2007-09-06 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224111624/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wallet | archive-date=2007-12-24 }}</ref>  (see for example "knapzak" in Dutch and Frisian). The early usage by [[Shakespeare]] described something that we would recognise as more like a backpack today.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ShakespearesWords.com |url=https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/GlossaryHeadword.aspx?headwordId=8205 |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.shakespeareswords.com}}</ref> The modern meaning of "flat case for carrying paper money" is first recorded in 1834 in American English.<ref name="onlineetymology"/>

The ancient Greek word ''kibisis'', said to describe the pouch carried the god [[Hermes]] and the sack in which the mythical hero [[Perseus]] carried the severed head of the monster [[Medusa]], has been typically translated as "wallet".<ref>{{cite web | title=CTCWeb Glossary: K | url=http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/glossary/glossaryk.html | access-date=2007-09-06 | url-status=live | archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110712215106/http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/glossary/glossaryk.html | archive-date=2011-07-12 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|last1=Apollodorus|editor1-first=James G |editor1-last=Frazer |editor1-link= James George Frazer |location=London |year=1921|publisher=W. Heinemann|volume=2|chapter=Perseus |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+2.4.2}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:aleutianwallet.gif|thumb|upright|Aleutian Wallet for carrying [[Fishing tackle|tackle]]]]

===Ancient Greece===
The classicist [[A. Y. Campbell]] set 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."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Campbell|first=A. Y.|title=The Boy, the Grapes, and the Foxes|journal=The Classical Quarterly|date=April 1931|volume=25|issue=2|page=91 |doi=10.1017/S0009838800013501|jstor=637006 |s2cid=171946559 |author-link=A. Y. Campbell}}</ref> 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 a [[lunch basket]] but more as a [[survival pack]].

===Renaissance===
Wallets were developed after the introduction of [[Banknote|paper currency]] to the West in the 1600s. (The first paper currency was introduced in the New World by the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1690.) Prior to the introduction of paper currency, [[coin purse]]s (usually simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storing [[coin]]s. Early wallets were made primarily of cow or horse leather and included a small pouch for printed [[Visiting card|calling cards]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

In recounting the life of the [[Elizabethan]] merchant, [[John Frampton]], [[Lawrence C. Wroth]] describes 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".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wroth|first=Lawrence C.|title=An Elizabethan Merchant and Man of Letters |journal=[[Huntington Library Quarterly]]|date=August 1954|volume=17|issue=4|pages=301–302 |doi=10.2307/3816498|jstor=3816498|author-link=Lawrence C. Wroth}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Pouch or wallet (AM 610060-3).jpg|thumb|right|200px|A mid-19th century wallet or pouch made of leather]]
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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mason|first=Otis T.|author-link=Otis Tufton Mason|title=The Beginnings of the Carrying Industry|journal=[[American Anthropologist]]|date=January 1889|volume=A2|issue=1|pages=21–46|doi=10.1525/aa.1889.2.1.02a00030|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In [[Spain]], a wallet was a case for [[Smoking#Substances and equipment|smoking 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-called ''yesca'', being a dried vegetable fibre which a spark would instantly ignite."<ref>{{cite book|last=Cushing|first=Caroline E. W.|title=Letters: Descriptive of Public Monuments, Scenery & Manners in France & Spain|year=1832|volume=2|chapter=Letter XIV|publisher=Allen|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jwg_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA169|location=Newburyport, MA|oclc=8401193|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507031935/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jwg_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA169|archive-date=2017-05-07}}</ref>

===20th century–present===
[[File:Wallet (AM 613844).jpg|thumb|right|200px|A WW I era wallet and its contents]]
The modern bi-fold wallet with multiple "card slots" became standardized in the early 1950s with the introduction of the first [[credit card]]s. Some innovations include the introduction of the [[velcro]]-closure wallet in the 1970s. Pocket-sized wallets remain popular to this day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-20 |title=A Brief History of Wallets and The People Who Own Them |url=https://bravesoles.life/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-wallets-and-the-people-who-own-them |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=Brave Soles Life |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518014502/https://bravesoles.life/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-wallets-and-the-people-who-own-them |url-status=dead }}</ref>

For [[cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] that 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==
Wallets are usually designed to hold banknotes and credit cards and fit into a pocket or handbag. Small cases for securing [[banknotes]] which do not have space for credit cards or identification cards may be classified as [[money clip]]s: this may also be used to describe small cases designed to hold [[ISO/IEC 7810]] cards 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 a [[motorcycle]], smaller chained wallets became popular in 1970s−'80s [[punk fashion]] and in the early 1990s with the [[grunge fashion]] movement as well as [[heavy metal fashion]]. Long wallets are popular with men in cash-based countries like [[Japan]] and may reflect [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] aesthetic 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 by [[travel|trave]]lers to hold essential documentation together, such as [[passport]]s, [[Ticket (admission)|tickets]], [[boarding pass]]es, foreign currency, [[traveler's cheque]]s, [[Travel itinerary|itinerary]], [[travel insurance]], [[hotel]] booking information, and other similar items.
;ID case/neck pouch: thin nylon or leather cases with plastic see-through compartments designed to hold an [[ID 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 a [[shoe]] to 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.{{explain|date=June 2014}}{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}
;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-sized [[multitool]], with similarities to a [[Swiss army knife]].
;RFID blocking wallet:  a wallet acting as a [[faraday cage]] around proximity-sensing enabled cards. Can block [[Near-field communication|NFC]] & [[Radio-frequency identification|RFID]] signals, preventing portable RFID readers from reading sensitive data.

==Materials==
The traditional material for wallets is [[leather]] or [[fabric]], but many other flexible flat sheet materials can be used in their fabrication. Non-woven textiles such as [[Tyvek]] are used, sometimes including reuse of [[waterproof paper|waterproof maps]] printed on that material. [[Wire mesh|Woven metal]]s, such as fine mesh made of [[copper]] or [[stainless steel]] have been incorporated into wallets that are promoted as having [[electromagnetic shielding]] properties to protect against unauthorized scanning of embedded [[Near-field communication|NFC]] and [[RFID tag]]s. [[Do-it-yourself]] websites such as [[Instructables]] feature many projects for making wallets out of materials such as [[denim]], [[Kevlar]], or [[duct tape]].

==Regional differences==
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 as [[Euro banknotes|euros]] and [[Banknotes of the pound sterling|pounds]], are typically larger than [[Federal Reserve Note|American banknotes]] in size, they do not fit in some smaller American wallets.

==Metaphorical usage==
The term wallet is also used [[Syndecdoche|as a synecdoche]] to refer to an individual's overall [[home economics|personal 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".<ref>Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomír Batka. ''The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology''. OUP Oxford, 2014. p. 328</ref> A wallet is also used as an example in a definition for the related rhetorical device of [[metonymy]]: "If we cannot strike offenders in the heart, let us strike them in the wallet."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/tropes.html |title= Tropes|author=<!--Not stated--> |website=/web.cn.edu |publisher=Dr. Wheeler |access-date=3 April 2020 }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Kyle's Wallet (4081125688).jpg|A large wallet attached with a leather cord or magnet
File:ZNAP Kartenetui (Slimpuro) 01.jpg|An RFID signal-blocking slim wallet
File:Aarong leather wallet.jpg|A leather wallet
File:Japanese Wallet.JPG|A Japanese wallet with a coin purse
File:An Idea May Mean Wealth In Your Wallet^ - NARA - 534155.tif|A poster seeking innovative suggestions tells readers "An Idea May Mean Wealth In Your Wallet".
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Digital wallet]] 
* [[Coin purse]]
* [[Money bag]]
* [[Money belt]]
* [[Netsuke]]
* [[Sporran]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Wallets}}

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[[Category:Bags]]
[[Category:Bags (fashion)]]
[[Category:Domestic implements]]
[[Category:Fashion accessories]]
[[Category:Money containers]]
[[Category:Leather goods]]