purl

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A particular stitch in knitting in which the working yarn is pulled through an existing…

   A particular stitch in knitting in which the working yarn is pulled through an existing stitch from front to back.

2. 2

   The edge of lace trimmed with loops.

3. 3

   An embroidered and puckered border

   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 with purl and pearl.
4. ›+ 10 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To decorate with fringe or embroidered edge

      • Needlework purled with gold.
   2. 5

      To use or create a purl stitch or stitches.

      • Knit one, purl two.
      • Stockinette fabric is created by knitting the right-side rows and purling the wrong-side rows.
   3. 6

      a heavy or headlong fall

      a heavy or headlong fall; an upset.

   4. 7

      To upset, to spin, capsize, fall heavily, fall headlong.

      • The huntsman was purled from his horse.
   5. 8

      To flow with a murmuring sound in swirls and eddies.

      • Swift o'er the rolling pebbles, down the hills, / Louder and louder purl the falling rills.
      • There is a water-break formed by a small terrace of rock in mid-stream, and purling with a hollow, delicious monotone—an island of pebbles is above, with here and there smaller ones near the "forks."
      • At seven minutes past four, while a Bach sonata was purling under the din of the crowd, the President's reaching hand was struck aside, and a man lurched forward. Two shots cracked sharply. There was a moment of dead silence.
   6. 9

      To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations

      To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations; to curl; to mantle.

      • thin winding breath which purled up to the sky
   7. 10

      A circle made by the motion of a fluid

      A circle made by the motion of a fluid; an eddy; a ripple.

      • Caiſters ſiluer Lake, / […] / VVhoſe ſtreame an eaſie breath doth ſeeme to blovve; / VVhich on the ſparkling grauell runns in purles, / As though the vvaues had been of ſiluer curles.
      • Whatsoever had a beginning, can also have an ending; and it shall die, unless it be daily watered with the purls flowing from the fountain of life, and refreshed with the dew of heaven, and the wells of God: […]
   8. 11

      A gentle murmuring sound, such as that produced by the running of a liquid among…

      A gentle murmuring sound, such as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions.

      • the purl of a brook
   9. 12

      Ale or beer spiced with wormwood or other bitter herbs, regarded as a tonic.

      • A double mug of purle.
   10. 13

       Hot beer mixed with gin, sugar, and spices.

       • Drank a glass of purl to recover appetite.
       • Drinking hot purl, and smoking pipes.

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