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Fromkin's Introduction to Linguistics says:

We classify vowels according to three questions:

  1. How high or low in the mouth is the tongue?
  2. How forward or backward in the mouth is the tongue?
  3. Are the lips rounded (pursed) or spread?

Merriam Webster says:

purse
transitive verb
1:
to put into a purse
2:
PUCKER, KNIT
pursed his brow

How are pursed and rounded synonymous?

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    This parentheses construction doesn't mean that these two words are synonyms, just that in this case the second word helps explain the first. I could say "curl your fingers together (in a fist)." That doesn't make "together" and "in a fist" synonyms.
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Jun 27 at 15:33
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    You can't purse your lips without rounding them.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 27 at 16:49
  • 1
    a picture speaks louder than words
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 28 at 14:16
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    They aren't synonyms in that you can't replace 'rounded' with 'pursed' outside of the very specific context of lips. 'Pursed' is one of those words (in my experience) that is only used in a specific set of phrases. 'Rounded' is a general term.
    – JimmyJames
    Commented Jun 28 at 21:31

2 Answers 2

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The expression 'purse one's lips' refers to the historical type of coin purse in the form of a bag gathered at the neck. When we draw our lips together as a sign of disapproval or concentration, they look like the neck of a drawstring bag.

I find 'purse one's brow' a very strange expression. Ngrams shows that it is used, but is far less common.

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5

Pursed and rounded are not synonyms but it's that when you purse your lips they become rounded.

To purse is synonym to to pucker which means:

intransitive verb: to become wrinkled or constricted

transitive verb: to contract into folds or wrinkles

From Merriam Webster

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