puer

noun

1. (historical, uncountable)Dung (of dogs, fowls, etc) used in tanning, after applying lime, to soften skins.

   “A solution called the ‘pure’ or the 'pewer' (having never seen the word written.., we must spell it as pronounced) is prepared in a large vessel, and into this the skins are immersed.”

   “[…] The bacteria of fresh dog-dung were not found to possess a satisfactory puering effect, but those from dung with had been fermented a month (as in practice) have a result nearly equal to actual puer.”

   “[…] it was about 50 years before the use of puer was discontinued, at least in Europe.”

2. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative form of pu'er.
3. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of puer aeternus.

   ““No; you called it that. Anyway, what’s wrong with ‘whither’?” / “Oh, that; we had to struggle through a high school commencement speech one time, something about ‘Whither now, oh, puers and puellas?’ and now the word gives us the hiccoughs.””

   “As I mentioned earlier, the circumstances that precipitate puer development prece sexual differentiation and the formation of a strong identity based on gender. Some puers and puellas are, therefore, heterosexual, others are homosexual.”

   “TR spirit-work: For some extreme and gifted puers and puellas, Jesus or Mary another spirit comes in vivid visions. […] The blessing, though related to the body, takes place mainly on a heavenly-spiritual place. It is a necessary beginning for puers and puellas, though much embodied “shadow-material” remains to be dealt with, including the “nasty old (wo)man.””

   “Mr. Pan, I wrote a book that owes much to von Franz's interpretation of the puer syndrome: THE SECRET RAVEN: Conflict and Transformation in the Life of Franz Kafka (Inner City Books, 1980). Also, my book THE SURVIVAL PAPERS: Anatomy of a Midlife Crisis (Inner City, 1988) is a narrative about the personal analysis of a puer brought to his knees by his own psychology.”

name

1. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative form of Pu'er.

   “Until the 1950s, Han Chinese traders came from Puer city to purchase and transport this crude tea by horsetrain back to Puer, about 150 miles away, where it was processed into "bricks" or loose tea in family workshops.”

   “The lack of knowledge of Chinese was regarded as a major obstacle for the imposition of Chinese rule, and already in 1912 the head of the Chinese government of Simao and Puer reported to the provincial government about the urgent need for developing Chinese education in Sipsong Panna (Xiao 1993: 125).”

   “With new shoes all round, and with the paths through the paddy fields here paved, they made good speed to Puer ('Pou-eul'), then as now a tea-growing centre where the road to Dali (and Mekong) forks off from that to Kunming.”