bolsa

Bolsa is a term in Spanish and Portuguese that denotes several related ideas centered on containment and exchange. The most common sense is a flexible container used to carry items, such as a bag, purse, or sack.

Originating from the Latin bursa, bolsa acquired its broad sense of a pouch or pocket and is used for various bags and pouches in daily life. In Spanish and Portuguese, it encompasses shopping bags, travel bags, and fashion accessories made from cloth, leather, or synthetic materials.

In specialized contexts, bolsa has additional meanings. In anatomy, it names a sac or pouch around a body structure, such as a bursae. In finance, la bolsa refers to the stock market or stock exchange, for example la Bolsa de Madrid or B3 in Brazil.

The term also appears in expressions such as bolsa de estudio (scholarship), bolsa de trabajo (employment program or fund), and bolsa plástica (plastic bag). Depending on country, "bolsa" may be used alone to denote either the container or the financial market, with context disambiguating the sense.