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purlieu

[pur-loo, purl-yoo]

noun

purlieus, environs or neighborhood.

a place where one may range at large; confines or bounds.

a person's haunt or resort.

an outlying district or region, as of a town or city.

a piece of land on the edge of a forest, originally land that, after having been included in a royal forest, was restored to private ownership, though still subject, in some respects, to the operation of the forest laws.

Origin:
1475–85; alteration (simulating French lieu place) of earlier parlewe, parley, paraley purlieu of a forest < Anglo-French purale(e) a going through, equivalent to pur (< Latin prō for, pro¹, confused with per through) + aller (see alley)

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Purlieu is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

purlieu (ˈpɜːljuː)

—n
1.	English history land on the edge of a forest that was once included within the bounds of the royal forest but was later separated although still subject to some of the forest laws, esp regarding hunting
2.	(usually plural) a neighbouring area; outskirts
3.	(often plural) a place one frequents; haunt
4.	rare a district or suburb, esp one that is poor or squalid

[C15 purlewe, from Anglo-French puralé a going through (influenced also by Old French lieu place), from Old French puraler to traverse, from pur through + aler to go]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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purlieu

pur·lieu