purl

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To flow or ripple with a murmuring sound.
• noun The sound made by rippling water.
• intransitive verb To knit (yarn) with a purl stitch.
• intransitive verb To edge or finish (a handkerchief, for example) with lace or embroidery.
• intransitive verb To do knitting with a purl stitch.
• intransitive verb To edge or finish with lace or embroidery.
• noun Inversion of a knit stitch; purl stitch.
• noun A decorative edging of lace or embroidery.
• noun Gold or silver wire used in embroidery.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To flow with a rippling or murmuring sound, as a shallow stream over or among stones or other obstructions; ripple along in eddying and bubbling swirls.
• noun A continued murmuring sound, as of a shallow stream of water running over small stones: as, the purl of a brook.
• noun A murmuring brook or rippling stream of water.
• noun A circle or curl made by the motion of water; a ripple; an eddy.
• To ornament with a decorative border of any sort; decorate with fringe or embroidery; purfle.
• To invert, as a stitch in knitting; turn over and knit the other way; seam.
• To curl or swirl; move in rippling or eddying swirls.
• To upset; overturn; capsize. [Slang.] See the quotation under II., 2.
• To whirl about; cause to rotate: as, the wind purls a snow-drift.
• To upset; overturn; also, specifically, as a hunting term, to unseat or unhorse.
• To wind, as thread, upon a reel or spindle.
• noun A drink, of which beer is the principal ingredient, defined about 1815 as hot beer mixed with gin: same as dog's-nose; in later times, a stimulating mixture of beer, gin, sugar, and ginger.
• noun A border of embroidery or perhaps of lace, or gold lace or galloon.
• noun A spiral of gold or silver wire, used in lace-work.
• noun An inversion of the stitches in knitting, which gives to parts of the work an appearance different from the general surface, such as the ribbed appearance of those parts where great elasticity is required.
• noun A plait or fold, as in an article of dress.
• noun In lace-making, a kind of lace in common use in the sixteenth century, and often of great value.
• noun The common tern, or sea-swallow.
• A Middle English form of prowl.
• noun In embroidered bookbinding, a fine copper coil closely covered with colored silks.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To decorate with fringe or embroidery.
• noun An embroidered and puckered border; a hem or fringe, often of gold or silver twist; also, a pleat or fold, as of a band.
• noun An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance.
• noun Same as Purl, n., 2.
• intransitive verb 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.
• intransitive verb To rise in circles, ripples, or undulations; to curl; to mantle.
• noun A circle made by the notion of a fluid; an eddy; a ripple.
• noun A gentle murmur, as that produced by the running of a liquid among obstructions.
• noun 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.
• noun (Zoöl.), Prov. Eng. A tern.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun a heavy or headlong fall, an upset
• verb archaic to upset, to spin, capsize, fall heavily, fall headlong
• verb intransitive to flow with murmuring sound in swirls and eddies
• noun A particular stitch in knitting.
• noun the edge of lace trimmed with loops
• verb To decorate with fringe or embroidered edge
• verb knitting an inverted stitch producing ribbing etc
• noun archaic formerly ale spiced with wormwood and sometimes warmed.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a basic knitting stitch
• verb knit with a purl stitch
• verb embroider with gold or silver thread