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Definition of purfle - 2 dictionary results

pur⋅fle

  [pur-fuhl] verb, -fled, -fling, noun
Use purfle in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to finish with an ornamental border.
2. to decorate (a shrine or tabernacle) with architectural forms in miniature.
–noun
3. Also called purfling. an ornamental border, as the inlaid border near the outer edge of the table and back of a stringed instrument.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME purfilen < MF porfiler to make or adorn a border, equiv. to por- pro 1 + filer to spin, deriv. of fil thread < L fīlum. See profile

Related forms:
purfler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To purfle
pur·fle   (pûr'fəl)   
tr.v.   pur·fled, pur·fling, pur·fles
To finish or decorate the border or edge of.
n.   also pur·fling (-flĭng)
An ornamental border or edging.

[Middle English purfilen, from Old French porfiler, from Vulgar Latin *prōfīlāre : Latin prō-, forth; see pro-1 + Latin fīlum, thread; see gwhī- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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