Purlieu

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Purlieu \Pur"lieu\, n. [Corrupted (by influence of lieu place)
     fr. OF. pural['e]e, poral['e]e (equiv. to LL. perambulatio a
     survey of boundaries, originally, a going through); por (L.
     pro, confused, however, with L. per through) + al['e]e. See
     {Pro-}, and {Alley}.] [Written also {pourlieu}.]
     1. Originally, the ground near a royal forest, which, having


        been unlawfully added to the forest, was afterwards
        severed from it, and disafforested so as to remit to the
        former owners their rights.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Then as a tiger, who by chance hath spied
              In some purlieu two gentle fawns at play. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence, the outer portion of any place; an adjacent
        district; environs; neighborhood. "The purlieus of St.
        James."
        [1913 Webster]
  
              brokers had been incessantly plying for custom in
              the purlieus of the court.            --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster] Purlin

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  83 Moby Thesaurus words for "purlieu":
     agora, amphitheater, arena, athletic field, auditorium, background,
     baths, bear garden, boundary, bounds, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring,
     campus, canvas, casino, circus, club, clubhouse, cockpit, coliseum,
     colosseum, compass, confines, course, field, floor, forum,
     gambling house, gathering place, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall,
     hangout, haunt, health resort, hippodrome, limits, lists, locale,
     marketplace, mat, meeting place, milieu, open forum, outskirts,
     palaestra, parade ground, pit, place, platform, precinct,
     precincts, prize ring, public square, rallying point, range,
     rendezvous, resort, ring, scene, scene of action, scenery, setting,
     site, spa, sphere, springs, squared circle, stadium, stage,
     stage set, stage setting, stamping ground, suburbs, terrain,
     theater, tilting ground, tiltyard, walk, watering place,
     wrestling ring
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  PURLIEU, Eng. law. A space of land near a forest, known by certain 
  boundaries, which was formerly part of a forest, but which has been 
  separated from it. 
       2. The history of purlieus is this. Henry III., on taking possession of 
  the throne, manifested so great a taste for forests that he enlarged the old 
  ones wherever he could, and by this means enclosed many estates, which had 
  no outlet to the public roads, and things increased in this way until the 
  reign of King John, when the public reclamations were so great that much of 
  this land was disforested; that is, no longer had the privileges of the 
  forests, and the land thus separated bore the name of purlieu.