1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Profile

PROFILE, an outline or contour drawing, particularly the drawing of the outline of the human face as seen from the side, or in architecture the contour of a part of a building, of a moulding, &c., as shown by a vertical section. In fortification the “profile” of an earthwork is an outline of a transverse section and gives the relative thickness; so a work is said, to be “of strong” or “of weak” profile. The Fr. profil, formerly porfil, pourfil, Ital. profilo, proffilo, are formed from Lat. pro, and filare, to draw a line, filum, thread.

The French pourfil also gave English “purfle,” to embroider the edge of a fabric with gold or other thread; this was further corrupted to “purl,” now often wrongly spelt “pearl,” an inverted stitch in knitting.