A small, lightweight suitcase or travel bag used for carrying personal belongings.
From French 'valise,' which comes from Italian 'valigia,' possibly derived from Arabic 'walaj' meaning to wrap. The word entered English in the 17th century as travel became more common among Europeans.
The valise became synonymous with 19th-century travelers and detectives in literature—think of Victorian adventurers carrying small, elegant cases—and the word is rarely used now because modern luggage has made the specific valise obsolete.
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