Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Anglo-French
Origin: puralé 'checking of a land border by walking around it', from Old French puraler 'to go through'; influenced by lieu ( LIEU)

purlieus

 noun
     
pur‧lieus [plural]
literary the area in and around a place
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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