Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Purl

Purl (pûrl), v. t. [Contr. fr. purfile, purfle. See Purfle.] To decorate with fringe or embroidery. "Nature's cradle more enchased and purled." B. Jonson.

Purl, n. 1. An embroidered and puckered border; a hem or fringe, often of gold or silver twist; also, a pleat or fold, as of a band.

A triumphant chariot made of carnation velvet, enriched withpurl and pearl. Sir P. Sidney.

2. An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance.

Purl stitch. Same as Purl, n., 2.

Purl, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Purled; p. pr. & vb. n. Purling.] [Cf. Sw. porla, and E. pur to murmur as a cat.] 1. To run swiftly round, as a small stream flowing among stones or other obstructions; to eddy; also, to make a murmuring sound, as water does in running over or through obstructions.

Swift o'er the rolling pebbles, down the hills, Louder and louder purl the falling rills. Pope.

2. [Perh. fr. F. perler to pearl, to bead. See Pearl, v. & n.] To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations; to curl; to mantle.

thin winding breath which purled up to the sky. Shak.

Purl, n. [See 3d Purl.] 1. A circle made by the notion of a fluid; an eddy; a ripple.

Whose stream an easy breath doth seem to blow, Which on the sparkling gravel runs in purles, As though the waves had been of silver curls. Drayton.

2. A gentle murmur, as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions; as, the purl of a brook.

3. [Perh. from F. perler, v. See Purl to mantle.] Malt liquor, medicated or spiced; formerly, ale or beer in which wormwood or other bitter herbs had been infused, and which was regarded as tonic; at present, hot beer mixed with gin, sugar, and spices. "Drank a glass of purl to recover appetite." Addison. "Drinking hot purl, and smoking pipes." Dickens.

4. (Zoöl.) A tern. [Prov. Eng.]

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.