1. purl - Noun
2. purl - Verb
To decorate with fringe or embroidery.
An embroidered and puckered border; a hem or fringe, often of gold or silver twist; also, a pleat or fold, as of a band.
An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance.
To run swiftly round, as a small stream flowing among stones or other obstructions; to eddy; also, to make a murmuring sound, as water does in running over or through obstructions.
To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations; to curl; to mantle.
A circle made by the notion of a fluid; an eddy; a ripple.
A gentle murmur, as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions; as, the purl of a brook.
Malt liquor, medicated or spiced; formerly, ale or beer in which wormwood or other bitter herbs had been infused, and which was regarded as tonic; at present, hot beer mixed with gin, sugar, and spices.
A tern.
Source: Webster's dictionaryI paint by all the daylight we have and that is little enough, less perhaps than you have by much... imagine to yourself how a purl must look through a burnt glass. John Constable
the water was purling Source: Internet
Checkerboard patterns ( basketweave ) are also possible, the smallest of which is known as seed/moss stitch: the stitches alternate between knit and purl in every wale and along every row. Source: Internet
Conversely, rows of purl stitches tend to form an embossed ridge relative to a row of knit stitches. Source: Internet
Different combinations of knit and purl stitches, along with more advanced techniques, generate fabrics of considerably variable consistency, from gauzy to very dense, from highly stretchy to relatively stiff, from flat to tightly curled, and so on. Source: Internet
Each stitch in slip stitch crochet is formed the same way as a knit or purl stitch which is then bound off. Source: Internet