reticule

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a small woman's handbag, often closed with a drawstring

   She placed the invitation in her reticule before leaving the carriage.

2. 2
   noun

   a reticle or fine network of lines in an optical instrument

   The surveyor aligned the tower with the centre of the reticule.

Borrowed from French réticule, from Latin rēticulum, 'small net,' a diminutive of rēte, 'net.' The handbag was named for its early netlike construction; the optical sense refers to a network of fine lines.

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