purlieu

pur·lieu  (pûrly, pûrl)

n.

1. An outlying or neighboring area.

2. purlieus Outskirts; the environs.

3. A place that one frequents.

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[Middle English purlewe, piece of land on the edge of a forest, probably alteration (influenced by Old French lieu, place) of porale, purale, royal perambulation, from Old French porale, from poraler, to traverse : por-, forth (from Latin pr-; see pro-¹) + aler, aller, to go; see alley¹.]

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purlieu [ˈpɜːljuː]

n

1. (Historical Terms) 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. (Social Science / Human Geography) (usually plural) a neighbouring area; outskirts

3. (often plural) a place one frequents; haunt

4. (Social Science / Human Geography) 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]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

purlieu - an outer adjacent area of any place environs geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region - a demarcated area of the Earth