pur

[ pur ]

/ pɜr /

noun, verb (used with or without object), purred, pur·ring.

purr.

Nearby words

purr

or pur

[ pur ]

/ pɜr /

verb (used without object)

to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.

(of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat: The new motor of the car purred.

verb (used with object)

to express by or as if by purring.

noun

the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.

a sound resembling this.

the act of purring.

Origin of purr

First recorded in 1595–1605; imitative

Related formspurr·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confusedper purr (see usage note at per)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pur

Felix brought him in to tea, because we are to have his report for Pur.
The Pillars of the House, Vol. II (of 2)|Charlotte M. Yonge
In my opinion he's a liar; I was going to say 'pur et simple,' but he is neither pure nor simple.
April's Lady|Margaret Wolfe Hungerford
Pur′ples, petechi or spots of livid red on the body: a disease of wheat: an early purple-flowered orchid.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
Ceo n'est que un restitution en lour ley, pur que a ceo n'avomus regard, &c.
Commentaries on the Laws of England|William Blackstone

Reason is certainly to be accepted; it is pur natural light, and the only faculty whereby we can judge of things.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pur

purr

/ (pɜː) /

verb

(intr) (esp of cats) to make a low vibrant sound, usually considered as expressing pleasure, etc

(tr) to express (pleasure, etc) by this sound

noun

a purring sound

Word Origin for purr

C17: of imitative origin; compare French ronronner to purr, German schnurren, Dutch snorren

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pur

purr

1610s, of imitative origin. Related: Purred; purring. As a noun from c.1600.