Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Pūre, a. p. 1063Separate from all heterogeneous or extraneous matter; clear; free from mixture; as, pure water; pure clay; pure sand; pure air; pure silver or gold. A guinea is pure gold if it has in it no alloy.…Pūre, v. t. p. 1063To purify; to cleanse. [Obs.] Chaucer.Purée, n. p. 1063A soup made of peas, &c., or other leguminous plants.Pūre'ly, adv. p. 1063In a pure manner; without any mixture of that which is foreign, hurtful, vitiating, or defiling; innocently; genuinely; guilelessly; chastely. 2. Without connection with, or dependence upon, any…Pūre'ness, n. p. 1063The state of being pure; an unmixed state; separation or freedom from any heterogeneous or foreign matter, especially from that which might injure, vitiate, or pollute; clearness; simplicity; purity…Pār'file, n. p. 1063A sort of ancient trimming for women’s gowns, made of tinsel and thread;—called also bobbin-work. [Obs.] Bailey.Pūr'fle, v. t. p. 1063To decorate with a wrought or flowered border; to embroider; as, to purfle with blue and white. [Obs.] A goodly lady clad in scarlet red, Purfled with gold and pearl of rich assay. Spencer. 2.…Pūr'fle p. 1063Pur'flew, n. p. 1063A border of embroidered work. 2. (Her.) A border composed of ermines, furs, and the like.Pūr'ga-ment, n. p. 1063(Med.) A medicine which purges; a cathartic; a purgative. (Obs.) Bacon. 2. That which is excreted from any thing; excretion. (Obs.)Pur-gā'tion, n. p. 1063The act of purging; the act of clearing, cleansing, or purifying by separating and carrying off impurities, or whatever is superfluous; often, the act of cleansing from the imputation of guilt. Let…Pūr'ga-tive, a. p. 1063Having the power of purging or cleansing; cathartic.Pūr'ga-tive, n. p. 1063(Med.) A medicine that evacuates the intestines; a cathartic.Pûr'ga-tive-ly, adv. p. 1063Cleansingly; cathartically.Pūr'ga-tō'ri-al or Pūr'ga-tō'ri-an, a. p. 1063Pertaining to purgatory.Pūr'ga-tō'ri-an, n. p. 1063One who holds to the doctrine of purgatory.Pūr'ga-to-ry, a. p. 1063Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. Burke.Pūr'ga-to-ry, n. p. 1063(Rom. Cath. Church.) A place, or a state believed to exist after death, in which the souls of persons are purified, or in which they expiate such offenses committed in this life as do not merit…Pūrge, v. t. p. 1063To cleanse, clear, or purify by separating and carrying off whatever is impure, heterogeneous, foreign, or superfluous. “Till fire purge all things new.” Milton. 2. To operate on as, or by means of…Pūrge, v. i. p. 1063To become pure, as by clarification. 2. To have frequent or preternatural evacuations from the intestines, by means of a cathartic.Pūr'ge, n. p. 1063The act of purging. “And first, of the preparative for the purge of paganism out of the kingdoms of Northumberland.” Fuller. 2. That which purges; especially, a medicine that evacuates the…Pūr'ger, n. p. 1063One who, or that which, purges or cleanses; especially, a cathartic medicine.Pūr'ger-y, n. p. 1063A room for bleaching or refining sugar.Pūr'ging, n. p. 1063A diarrhea or dysentery; preternatural evacuation of the intestines; looseness of bowels.Pūr'ging-flāx, n. p. 1063(Bot.) A plant of the genus Linum (L. catharticum); dwarf wild flax;— so called from its use as a cathartic medicine.Pū/ri-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 1063The act of purifying; the act or operation of separating and removing from any thing that which is heterogeneous or foreign to it; as, the purification of liquors, or of metals. 2. The act or…Pū'ri-fi-ca-tĭve, a. p. 1063Having power to purify; tending to cleanse. [Obs.] Johnson.Pū'ri-fi-cā'tor, n. p. 1063One who purifies; a purifier.Pu-rĭf'i-ca-to-ry, a. p. 1063Serving or tending to purify; purificative. Johnson.Pū'ri-fī'er, n. p. 1063One who, or that which, purifies or cleanses; a cleanser; a refiner.Pū'ri-fōrm, a. p. 1063(Med.) Like pus; in the form of pus.Pŭr'i-fy, v. t. p. 1063To make pure or clear from material defilement, admixture, or imperfection; to free from extraneous matter; as, to purify liquors or metals; to purify the blood; to purify the air. 2. Hence, in…Pū'ri-fȳ, v. i. p. 1063To grow or become pure or clear; as, liquors will gradually purify. Burnet.Pû'rîm, n. p. 1063(Jewish Ant.) The feast of lots, instituted to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from the machinations of Haman. Esth. ix. 26.Pūr'ism, n. p. 1063The quality of being pure or nice, especially in the choice of language; over-solicitude as to purity. “His political purism.” De Quincey.Pūʹrist, n. p. 1063One who aims at excessive purity or nicety, especially in the choice of language. He [Fox] was so nervously apprehensive of sliding into some colloquial incorrectness, of debasing his style by a…Pū'ri-tan, n. p. 1063(Eng. Church.) One who opposed traditional and formal usages, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and advocated a simpler form of faith and worship than that which was established by law; originally, a…Pū'ri-tan, a. p. 1063Pertaining to, resembling, or characterizing the Puritans, or early dissenters from the Church of England.Pū'ri-tān'ic or Pū'ri-tān'ic-al, a. p. 1063Pertaining to the Puritans, or their doctrines and practice. 2. Precise in observance of legal or religious requirements; over-scrupulous; rigid;—often used by way of reproach or contempt.…Pū'ri-tăn'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 1063In a puritanical manner; with the exact or rigid notions or manners of the Puritans.Pū'ri-tan-ism, n. p. 1063The notions or practice of Puritans.Pū'ri-tan-ize, v. i. p. 1063To agree with or teach the notions of Puritans. Mountagu.Pŭ'ri-ty, n. p. 1063The condition of being pure; as, (a.) Freedom from foreign admixture or heterogeneous matter; as, the purity of water, of wine, of spirit; the purity of drugs; the purity of metals. (b.) Cleanness…Pur-kĭn'je-an, a. p. 1063Pertaining to, or discovered by, Purkinjé. Purkinjean vesicle (Anat.), a vesicle or cell in the germinant portion of an egg;—often called the germinal vesicle. R. Owen.Pûrl, n. p. 1064An embroidered and puckered border; a hem or fringe, often of gold or silver twist. “A triumphant chariot made of carnation velvet, enriched with purl and pearl.” Sidney. 2. An inversion of stitches…Pûrl, v. i. p. 1064To 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. My flowery theme…Pŭrl, v. t. p. 1064To decorate with fringe or embroidery. “Nature’s cradle more enchased and purled.” B. Jonson.Pūr'lieū, n. p. 1064Originally, the ground near a royal forest, which, being severed from it, was made pure or free from the forest laws. 2. Hence, the outer portion of any place; environs. “The purlieus of St. James.”…Pūr'līn or Pūr'līne, n. p. 1064(Arch.) A piece of timber extending from end to end of a building or roof, across and under the rafters, to support them in the middle.Pār'līng, n. p. 1064The motion of a small stream running among obstructions; also, the murmur it makes in so doing.Pur-loin', v. t. p. 1064To take or carry away for one’s self; hence, to steal; to take by theft; to filch. Had from his wakeful custody purloined The guarded gold. Milton. 2. To take by plagiarism; to steal from books or…Pur-loin', v. i. p. 1064To practice theft.Pur-loin'er, n. p. 1064One who purloins; a thief; a plagiary.Pūr'pār-ty, n. p. 1064(Law.) A share, part, or portion of an estate allotted to a coparcener by partition; pourparty. [Sometimes written also purpart, pourparty.] I am forced to eat all the game of your purparties, as…Pûr'ple, a. p. 1064Exhibiting or possessing a color composed of red and blue, much esteemed for its richness and beauty; as, a purple robe. 2. Hence, imperial; regal;—so called from the color having been a…Pūr'ple, n. p. 1064A purple color. Arraying with reflected purple and gold The clouds that on his western throne attend. Milton. 2. Hence, imperial government in the Roman empire, as a purple robe was the…Pŭr'ple, v. t. p. 1064To make purple, or to dye of a deep red color; as, hands purpled with blood. When morn Purples the east. Milton. Reclining soft in blissful bowers, Purpled sweet with springing flowers. Fenton.Pär'ple-heärt, n. p. 1064(Bot.) A tree of two species of the genus Copaiba (C. pubiflora and C. bracteata), found in Essequibo, which yield a timber possessing great strength, durability, and elasticity.Pâr'ple-woōd, n. p. 1064A kind of wood brought from Brazil, principally used for ramrods, and occasionally for buhl-work, marquetry, and turning. Simmonds.Pär'plish, a. p. 1064Somewhat purple. Boyle.