Online Etymology Dictionary

Purim (n.): Jewish festival on the 14th of Adar (in commemoration of the defeat of Haman's plot), late 14c., from Hebrew purim, literally "lots" (plural of pur), identified with haggoral "the lot" (Esther iii:7, ix:24), perhaps from Akkadian puru "stone, urn," "which itself is prob. a loan word from Sumeric bur" [Klein].
purine (n.): 1898, from German purin (Fischer), said to be from Latin purum, neuter of purus "clean, pure" (see pure) + Modern Latin uricum "uric acid" + chemical suffix -ine (2).
purism (n.): 1803, of language, from French purisme (see purist + -ism). As a movement in art from 1921.
purist (n.): "stickler for purity," 1706, from pure + -ist; on model of French puriste (1580s), originally in reference to speech.
Puritan (n.): 1560s, "opponent of Anglican hierarchy," later applied opprobriously to "person in Church of England who seeks further reformation" (1570s), probably from purity. Largely historical from 19c. in literal sense. After c. 1590s, applied to anyone deemed overly strict in matters of religion and morals.
What [William] Perkins, and the whole Puritan movement after him, sought was to replace the personal pride of birth and status with the professional's or craftsman's pride of doing one's best in one's particular calling. The good Christian society needs the best of kings, magistrates, and citizens. Perkins most emphasized the work ethic from Genesis: "In the swaete of thy browe shalt thou eate thy breade." [E. Digby Baltzell, "Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia," 1979]
puritanical (adj.): c. 1600, from Puritan + -ical. Chiefly in disparaging use. Related: Puritanically.
Puritanism (n.): 1570s, from Puritan + -ism. Originally in reference to specific doctrines; from 1590s of excessive moral strictness generally. In this sense, famously defined by H.L. Mencken (1920) as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy."
purity (n.): c. 1200, from Old French purete "simple truth," earlier purte (12c., Modern French pureté), from Late Latin puritatem (nominative puritas) "cleanness, pureness," from Latin purus "clean, pure, unmixed; chaste, undefiled" (see pure (adj.)).
purl (v.1): "knit with inverted stitches," 1825; earlier "embroider with gold or silver thread" (1520s), probably from Middle English pirlyng "revolving, twisting," of unknown origin. The two senses usually are taken as one word, but even this is not certain. Klein suggests a source in Italian pirolare "to twirl," from pirolo "top." As a noun, from late 14c. as "bordering, frills," 1530s as "twisted thread of gold and silver."
purl (v.2): "flow with a murmuring sound," 1580s, imitative, perhaps from a Scandinavian language. Related: Purled; purling.
purloin (v.): mid-14c., "remove, misappropriate," from Anglo-French purloigner "remove," Old French porloigner "put off, retard, delay, drag out; be far away," from por- (from Latin pro- "forth;" see pro-) + Old French loing "far," from Latin longe, from longus (see long (adj.)). Sense of "to steal" (1540s) is a development in English. Related: Purloined; purloining.
purple (n., adj.): Old English purpul, dissimilation (first recorded in Northumbrian, in Lindisfarne gospel) of purpure "purple dye, a purple garment," purpuren (adj.) "purple," a borrowing by 9c. from Latin purpura "purple color, purple-dyed cloak, purple dye," also "shellfish from which purple was made," and "splendid attire generally," from Greek porphyra "purple dye, purple" (see porphyry), of uncertain origin, perhaps Semitic, originally the name for the shellfish (murex) from which it was obtained. Purpur continued as a parallel form until 15c., and through 19c. in heraldry. As a color name, attested from early 15c. Tyrian purple, produced around Tyre, was prized as dye for royal garments.

Also the color of mourning or penitence (especially in royalty or clergy). Rhetorical for "splendid, gaudy" (of prose) from 1590s. Purple Heart, U.S. decoration for service members wounded in combat, instituted 1932; originally a cloth decoration begun by George Washington in 1782. Hendrix' Purple Haze (1967) is slang for "LSD." Purple finch so called from 1826; "the name is a misnomer, arising from the faulty coloring of a plate by Mark Catesby, 1731" [Century Dictionary] Also house finch, so called for its domesticity.
purple (v.): c. 1400, from purple (n.). Related: Purpled; purpling.
purplish (adj.): 1560s, from purple (n.) + -ish.
purport (n.): early 15c., from Anglo-French purport (late 13c.), Old French porport "contents, tenor," back-formation from purporter "to contain, convey, carry," from pur- (from Latin pro- "forth;" see pur-) + Old French porter "to carry," from Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)).
purport (v.): early 15c., "indicate, express, set forth," from the noun in English and from Anglo-French purporter (c. 1300), from Old French purporter (see purport (n.)). Related: Purported; purporting.
purportedly (adv.): "allegedly," 1949, from past participle of purport (v.) + -ly (2).
purpose (n.): c. 1300, "intention, aim, goal," from Anglo-French purpos, Old French porpos "aim, intention" (12c.), from porposer "to put forth," from por- "forth" (from Latin pro- "forth;" see pur-) + Old French poser "to put, place" (see pose (v.1)). On purpose "by design" is attested from 1580s; earlier of purpose (early 15c.).
purpose (v.): late 14c., from Anglo-French purposer "to design," Old French porposer "to intend, propose," variant of proposer (see propose).
purposeful (adj.): 1835, from purpose (n.) + -ful. Related: Purposefully.
purposeless (adj.): 1550s, from purpose (n.) + -less. Related: Purposelessly; purposelessness.
purposely (adv.): late 15c., from purpose (n.) + -ly (2).
purposive (adj.): 1849, from purpose + -ive.
purpura (n.): disease characterized by purple patches on the skin, 1753, from Modern Latin, from Latin purpura "purple dye" (see purple (n.)). Related: Purpuric.
purpurescent (adj.): 1890, from Latin purpura (see purple (n.)) + -escent. The Latin adjective was purparescent, present participle of purpurascere "to become purple," from purpurare.
purr (v.): 1610s, of imitative origin. Related: Purred; purring. As a noun from c. 1600.
purse (n.): Old English pursa "little bag made of leather," especially for carrying money, from Medieval Latin bursa "leather purse" (source also of Old French borse, 12c., Modern French bourse; see bourse), from Late Latin bursa, variant of byrsa "hide," from Greek byrsa "hide, leather." Change of b- to p- perhaps by influence of Old English pusa, Old Norse posi "bag."

Meaning "woman's handbag" is attested from 1951. Meaning "sum of money collected as a prize in a race, etc.," is from 1640s. Purse-strings, figurative for "control of money," is from early 15c. Purse-snatcher first attested 1902 (earlier purse-picker, 1540s). The notion of "drawn together by a thong" also is behind purse-net (c. 1400).
purse (v.): c. 1300, "put in a purse;" c. 1600 as "draw together and wrinkle" (as the strings of a money bag), from purse (n.). Related: Pursed; pursing.
purse-seine (n.): 1870; see purse (n.) + seine.
purser (n.): mid-15c., "treasurer," especially "caretaker of accounts and provisions on a ship," originally also "maker of purses" (late 15c.), agent noun from Middle English purse (see purse (n.)). From late 13c. as a surname.
pursual (n.): 1814, from pursue + -al (2).
pursuance (n.): 1590s, from Middle French poursuiance "act of pursuing," from Old French poursuir (see pursue).
pursuant (adj.): late 14c., from Old French poursuiant, porsivant, present participle of porsuir, porsivre "chase, pursue" (see pursue). Meaning "carrying out; following, according" is from 1690s.
pursue (v.): late 13c., "to follow with hostile intent," from Anglo-French pursuer and directly from Old French poursuir (Modern French poursuivre), variant of porsivre "to chase, pursue, follow; continue, carry on," from Vulgar Latin *prosequare, from Latin prosequi "follow, accompany, attend; follow after, escort; follow up, pursue," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + sequi "follow" (see sequel). Meaning "to proceed, to follow" (a path, etc.), usually figurative (a course of action, etc.), is from late 14c. This sense also was in Latin. Related: Pursued; pursuing. For sense, compare prosecute.
pursuer (n.): late 14c., agent noun from pursue.
pursuit (n.): late 14c., "persecution," also "action of pursuit," from Anglo-French purseute, from Old French porsuite "a search, pursuit" (14c., Modern French poursuite), from porsivre (see pursue). Sense of "one's profession, recreation, etc." first recorded 1520s. As a type of track cycling race from 1938.
purty (adj.): 1829, representing a colloquial pronunciation of pretty (adj.).
purulent (adj.): early 15c., from Middle French purulent and directly from Latin purulentus "full of pus," from pus (genitive puris) "pus" (see pus). Related: Purulence.
purvey (v.): late 13c., from Anglo-French porveire, purveire and directly from Old French porveoir "to provide, prepare, arrange" (Modern French pourvoir), from Latin providere "make ready" (see provide, which now usually replaces it). Related: Purveyed; purveying.
purveyance (n.): c. 1300, from Anglo-French purveance and directly from Old French porveance, from Latin providentia (see providence).
purveyor (n.): c. 1300, from Old French porveor (13c.), agent noun from porveoir (see purvey).
purview (n.): mid-15c., "body of a statute," from Anglo-French purveuest "it is provided," or purveu que "provided that" (late 13c.), clauses that introduced statutes in old legal documents, from Anglo-French purveu, Old French porveu (Modern French pourvu) "provided," past participle of porveoir "to provide," from Latin providere "make ready" (see provide). Sense of "scope, extent" is first recorded 1788 in "Federalist" (Madison). Modern sense and spelling influenced by view (n.).
pus (n.): late 14c., from Latin pus "pus, matter from a sore;" figuratively "bitterness, malice" (related to puter "rotten" and putere "to stink"), from PIE *pu- (2) "to rot, decay" (source also of Sanskrit puyati "rots, stinks," putih "stinking, foul, rotten;" Greek puon "discharge from a sore," pythein "to cause to rot;" Lithuanian puviu "to rot;" Gothic fuls, Old English ful "foul"), perhaps originally echoic of a natural exclamation of disgust.
Pusey: family name, early 13c., from Le Puiset in France.
push (v.): early 14c., from Old French poulser (Modern French pousser), from Latin pulsare "to beat, strike, push," frequentative of pellere (past participle pulsus) "to push, drive, beat" (see pulse (n.1)). Meaning "promote" is from 1714; meaning "approach a certain age" is from 1937. For palatization of -s-, OED compares brush (n.1); quash. Related: Pushed; pushing.
"Pushing up the daisies now," said a soldier of his dead comrade. ["The American Florist," vol. XLVIII, No. 1504, March 31, 1917]
To push (someone) around is from 1923. To push (one's) luck is from 1754. To push the envelope in figurative sense is late 1980s. To push up daisies "be dead and buried" is from World War I.
push (n.): 1560s, from push (v.). Phrase push comes to shove is from 1936.
push-button (adj.): "characterized by the use of push-buttons," 1945, originally of military systems, earlier "operated by push-buttons" (1903), from push-button (n.), 1865, from push (v.) + button (n.). Earlier was press-button (1892), from the noun (1879).
push-off (n.): "act of pushing off," 1902, from verbal phrase, from push (v.) + off (adv.).
push-up (n.): also pushup, type of physical exercise, 1893, from push (v.) + up (adv.). As an adjective from 1892; of bras from 1957. Related: Push-ups
pusher (n.): 1590s in a literal sense, agent noun from push (v.). Meaning "peddler of illegal drugs" (1935 in prison slang) is from the verb in the "promote" sense.