purfle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to finish with an ornamental border.
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to decorate (a shrine or tabernacle) with architectural forms in miniature.
noun
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of purfle
1275–1325; Middle English purfilen < Middle French porfiler to make or adorn a border, equivalent to por- pro 1 + filer to spin, derivative of fil thread < Latin fīlum. See profile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He made some good instruments, but did not purfle them.
From Violins and Violin Makers Biographical Dictionary of the Great Italian Artistes, their Followers and Imitators, to the present time. With Essays on Important Subjects Connected with the Violin. by J. H. (Joseph Henry) Pearce
Hast aught plotting in the hem of thy purfle, or in thy holiday ruff and fardingale?
From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by John Roby
Alive or dead, Riton used them despitefully; for it was his wont to shave the beards of these kings, and purfle therewith a cloak of furs that he wore, very rich.
From Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut by Eugene Mason
This toll was established because sir Crudor, with whom she was in love, refused to marry her till she had provided him with human hair sufficient to "purfle a mantle" with.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
After them followed a troop of English gentlemen, two and two, and then the Knights of the Bath, "in gowns of violet, with hoods purfled with miniver like doctors."
From The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3) by James Anthony Froude
Muffs of beautifully embroidered silk and satin were set with purfled trimmings, gold and silver lace, or bows and ribbons; otherwise they were of furs or feathers.
From Dress design An Account of Costume for Artists & Dressmakers by Talbot Hughes
All Fiddles purfled with whalebone are dubbed "Jacobs," and no other maker is credited with using such purfling.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by George Hart
His horse, a charger of the largest size, and well able to sustain his vast weight, was trapped in crimson velvet, purfled with ermines.
From Windsor Castle by William Harrison Ainsworth
Item—A coat for her son, of the same satin, purfled with black velvet, and spangled with gold.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 577, July 7, 1827 by Various
Placing the jar of water within easy reach, he dips the purfling into it once and then wipes it with his handy cloth.
From The Repairing & Restoration of Violins 'The Strad' Library, No. XII. by Horace Petherick
The sound holes straight and large, well cut and parallel, and double purfling.
From Violins and Violin Makers Biographical Dictionary of the Great Italian Artistes, their Followers and Imitators, to the present time. With Essays on Important Subjects Connected with the Violin. by J. H. (Joseph Henry) Pearce
Another detail of the workmanship always attended to by the master himself, was that of the purfling.
From Antonio Stradivari by Horace William Petherick
On all of these instruments will be found his name, surrounded with a design in purfling, under the finger-board, or his monogram executed in purfling.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by George Hart
All Fiddles purfled with whalebone are dubbed "Jacobs," and no other maker is credited with using such purfling.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by George Hart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
