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Purl   Listen
noun
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."
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  n.  
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."
2.
A gentle murmur, as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions; as, the purl of a brook.
3.
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." "Drinking hot purl, and smoking pipes."
4.
(Zool.) A tern. (Prov. Eng.)


verb
Purl  v. t.  To decorate with fringe or embroidery. "Nature's cradle more enchased and purled."


Purl  v. i.  (past & past part. purled; pres. part. purling)  
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."
2.
To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations; to curl; to mantle. "thin winding breath which purled up to the sky."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Purl" Quotes from Famous Books



... unconscious of the indignant pity for his wretched abilities in the gaze of the Countess; and he must have been exposed—there was a fear that the ghost of Sir Abraham would have darkened this day, for Miss Carrington was about to speak, when Lady Jocelyn cried: 'There's a purl! Somebody's down.' ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith
... confluent rivers, were unkindly torn apart; One to slide through fruited gardens, longing vainly for the sea, One to purl 'neath ample bridges, bearing cargoes to the mart, But ever dreaming fondly of a ...
— Stories in Verse • Henry Abbey
... day arrived with all the promptness that might have been expected of it in this land of rains and mists. The alder bushes behind the gymnasium dripped monotonously leaf upon leaf, added to this being the purl of the shallow stream a little way off, producing a sense of satiety in watery sounds. Though there was drizzle in the open meads, the rain here in the thicket was comparatively slight, and two men with fishing tackle who stood beneath one of the larger ...
— A Laodicean • Thomas Hardy
... an hour sat the shikarree watching every ruffle upon the water, and every motion of the floats, but no movement, either of wood or water, seemed to indicate that there were fish in the lake. Once or twice there appeared a little "purl" on the surface, near the line of the floats, and Ossaroo fancied he had made a "take" of it; but, on wading in and examining the net, not a fin could be found, and he had to wade out again with empty hands. These "purls" were occasioned either by very small fish passing through the meshes, or ...
— The Plant Hunters - Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains • Mayne Reid
... coaches, drays, choked turnpikes, and a whirl Of wheels, and roar of voices, and confusion, Here taverns wooing to a pint of 'purl,' There mails fast ...
— Newton Forster • Frederick Marryat


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