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purty

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
pur·ty  (pûrt)
adj. Regional
Variant of pretty.
Regional Note: Purty is probably the most common American example of metathesis, a linguistic process in which two adjacent sounds are reversed in order. Metathesis in English often involves the consonant r and a vowel, since the phonetic properties of r are so vowellike. For example, the word third used to be thrid, and bird, brid. By the same process, English pretty often came to be realized as purty in regional speech. Most such words stabilized because of the influence of printing and the resultant standardized spelling, but purty for pretty has survived in regional American dialects.
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And it is ralelly more than three fut and a bit that there is, inny how, of the little ould furrener Frinchman that lives jist over the way, and that's a oggling and a goggling the houl day, (and bad luck to him,) at the purty widdy Misthress Tracle that's my own nixt-door neighbor, (God bliss her
Poems by Poe, Edgar Allan View in context
He had hoped to learn through this fellow whether his little son was aboard the Kincaid, but to every question upon this or kindred subjects the fellow returned but one reply, "Ay tank it blow purty soon purty hard.
The Beasts of Tarzan by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context
Tisn't often I have a chance to sit down with two such sweet, purty ladies.
Anne's House of Dreams by Montgomery, Lucy Maud View in context
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