The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Purlieu \Pur"lieu\, n. [Corrupted (by influence of lieu place)
   fr. OF. pural['e]e, poral['e]e (equiv. to LL. perambulatio a
   survey of boundaries, originally, a going through); por (L.
   pro, confused, however, with L. per through) + al['e]e. See
   Pro-, and Alley.] [Written also pourlieu.]
   1. Originally, the ground near a royal forest, which, having
      been unlawfully added to the forest, was afterwards
      severed from it, and disafforested so as to remit to the
      former owners their rights.
      [1913 Webster]

            Then as a tiger, who by chance hath spied
            In some purlieu two gentle fawns at play. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Hence, the outer portion of any place; an adjacent
      district; environs; neighborhood. "The purlieus of St.
      James."
      [1913 Webster]

            brokers had been incessantly plying for custom in
            the purlieus of the court.            --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster] Purlin

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

purlieu
    n 1: an outer adjacent area of any place [syn: environs,
         purlieu]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

83 Moby Thesaurus words for "purlieu":
   agora, amphitheater, arena, athletic field, auditorium, background,
   baths, bear garden, boundary, bounds, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring,
   campus, canvas, casino, circus, club, clubhouse, cockpit, coliseum,
   colosseum, compass, confines, course, field, floor, forum,
   gambling house, gathering place, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall,
   hangout, haunt, health resort, hippodrome, limits, lists, locale,
   marketplace, mat, meeting place, milieu, open forum, outskirts,
   palaestra, parade ground, pit, place, platform, precinct,
   precincts, prize ring, public square, rallying point, range,
   rendezvous, resort, ring, scene, scene of action, scenery, setting,
   site, spa, sphere, springs, squared circle, stadium, stage,
   stage set, stage setting, stamping ground, suburbs, terrain,
   theater, tilting ground, tiltyard, walk, watering place,
   wrestling ring



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

PURLIEU, Eng. law. A space of land near a forest, known by certain
boundaries, which was formerly part of a forest, but which has been
separated from it.
     2. The history of purlieus is this. Henry III., on taking possession of
the throne, manifested so great a taste for forests that he enlarged the old
ones wherever he could, and by this means enclosed many estates, which had
no outlet to the public roads, and things increased in this way until the
reign of King John, when the public reclamations were so great that much of
this land was disforested; that is, no longer had the privileges of the
forests, and the land thus separated bore the name of purlieu.