RELATED CONTENT
English Affixes From A To Z: A One-Stop List Of Suffixes, Prefixes, and Combining FormsIn English, we love to make new words by adding all sorts of bits to the front and back of existing terms. These are called affixes, and they are added to the base or stem of a word. When attached to the end of word, the affix is called a suffix. And to the beginning? A prefix.
Nearby words
puppy dog, puppy fat, puppy love, puppyfoot, pupu, pur, puracé, purana, purbach, purbeck marble, purblind
Definition for pur (2 of 2)
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 forms
purr·ing·ly, adverbDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pur
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