purlieu
UK[ˈpɜːljuː]US[ˈpɜːrluː]
n
the area near or surrounding a place; a person's usual haunts.
n
(historical) a tract on the border of a forest, especially one earlier included in it and still partly subject to forest laws.
Etymology
the word 'purlieu' entered english in the late 15th century from the anglo-norman phrase 'pur alé', meaning 'to go through'. this was a legal term used in the perambulation (walking of the bounds) of a forest to reclaim and disafforest land, leading to the phrase 'a purlewe' meaning land that has been 'gone through' and thus removed from forest law. the modern spelling was influenced by the old french 'lieu', meaning 'place', creating a folk etymology. consequently, the term evolved from its specific legal sense of a disafforested border area to the more general modern meaning of an outlying district, a neighborhood, or a person's customary bounds.
Analysis
the word is a loanword from anglo-norman and is not productively formed from separable english morphemes. its components are not transparent in modern english spelling.
Examples
the quaint bookshops and cafes in the purlieu of the university were popular with students.
as a child, he knew every path and stream in the purlieus of the old estate.
the investigation focused on the criminal activities in the purlieus of the city's docks.