Puris were a type of animal lifeform indigenous to the northern continent of Qo'noS. Favorable specimens, such as those fat and sleek, could fetch a nice price at market.
The word puris was also sometimes used in insults. Notably, Emperor Kapronek once compared his own people, the Kamorh'dag, to a herd of puris sinking in a salt-marsh.
Leonard McCoy noted that the cubaya of Alpha Maluria VI bore more than a passing resemblance to puris, and deduced that they would probably share the puris' strong revulsion against the fireblossom plant. (TOS novel: Faces of Fire)