cutpurse

UK/ˈkʌtˌpɜːs/US/ˈkʌtˌpɝs/

nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans spoken

A cutpurse is a thief who cuts money bags from belts. Beware of cutpurses.

The word died out when pockets came in, and pickpocket replaced it. A cutpurse worked in crowds, which is why fairs and executions drew them.

Definitions of cutpurse

1nouncutpurseA thief who cuts money bags from belts.C2
“A cutpurse took his whole quarter's wages in the crowd.”

cutpurse is a thief.

Cut plus purse. Purses hung from the girdle on a strap, and the thief cut the strap rather than opening anything.

From Middle English cutte-purs; equivalent to cut + purse: originally, purses were worn by a strap at the girdle, which the thief would cut.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA