Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pearl
2.
Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl; something very precious.
I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s
pearl
. Shakespeare
And those
pearls
of dew she wears. Milton.
3.
Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.
4.
(Zool.)
A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.
5.
(Zool.)
A light-colored tern.
6.
(Zool.)
One of the circle of tubercles which form the bur on a deer's antler.
7.
A whitish speck or film on the eye.
[Obs.]
Milton.
8.
A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing some liquid for medicinal application, as ether.
9.
(Print.)
A size of type, between agate and diamond.
☞ This line is printed in the type called
pearl
. Ground pearl
. (Zool.)
See under
– Ground
. Pearl barley
, kernels of barley, ground so as to form small, round grains.
– Pearl diver
, one who dives for pearl oysters.
– Pearl edge
, an edge of small loops on the side of some kinds of ribbon; also, a narrow kind of thread edging to be sewed on lace.
– Pearl eye
, cataract.
[R.]
– Pearl gray
, a very pale and delicate blue-gray color.
– Pearl millet
, Egyptian millet (
– Penicillaria spicata
). Pearl moss
. See
– Carrageen
. Pearl moth
(Zool.)
, any moth of the genus
– Margaritia
; – so called on account of its pearly color. Pearl oyster
(Zool.)
, any one of several species of large tropical marine bivalve mollusks of the genus
– Meleagrina
, or Margaritifera
, found in the East Indies (especially at Ceylon), in the Persian Gulf, on the coast of Australia, and on the Pacific coast of America. Called also pearl shell
, and pearl mussel
. Pearl powder
. See
– Pearl white
, below. Pearl sago
, sago in the form of small pearly grains.
– Pearl sinter
(Min.)
, fiorite.
– Pearl spar
(Min.)
, a crystallized variety of dolomite, having a pearly luster.
– Pearl white
. (a)
Basic bismuth nitrate, or bismuth subchloride; – used chiefly as a cosmetic
. (b)
A variety of white lead blued with indigo or Berlin blue.
– cultured pearl
, a pearl grown by a pearl oyster into which a round pellet has been placed, to serve as the seed for more predictable growth of the pearl. The pellet is usually made from mother-of-pearl, and additional layers of nacre are deposited onto the seed by the oyster. Such pearls, being more easily obtained than natural pearls from wild oysters, are less expensive.
Pearl
(pẽrl)
, Adj.
Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of mother-of-pearl.
Pearl
,Verb.
T.
1.
To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used also figuratively.
2.
To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round grains;
as, to
. pearl
barleyPearl
,Verb.
I.
1.
To resemble pearl or pearls.
2.
To dive or hunt for pearls;
as, to go
. pearling
Webster 1828 Edition
Pearl
PEARL
,Noun.
1.
A white, hard, smooth, shining body, usually roundish, found in a testaceous fish of the oyster kind. The pearl-shell is called matrix perlarum, mother of pearl, and the pearl is found only in the softer part of the animal. It is found in the Persian seas and in many parts of the ocean which washes the shores of Arabia and the continent and isles of Asia, and is taken by divers. Pearls are of different sizes and colors; the larger ones approach to the figure of a pear; some have been found more than an inch in length. They are valued according to their size, their roundness, and their luster or purity, which appears in a silvery brightness.2.
Poetically, something round and clear, as a drop of water or dew.3.
A white speck of film growing on the eye.PEARL
,Verb.
T.
PEARL
,Verb.
I.
Definition 2024
Pearl
Pearl
See also: pearl
English
Proper noun
Pearl
- A female given name
- 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, Chapter VI:
- Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother's only treasure!
- 1992 Karen Kijewski, Kat's Cradle, page 7:
- "What was your name?"
- "Pearl." Ruby and Pearl, mother and daughter. " It's an ugly name, isn't it?"
- "No, it isn't". And I meant it, it wasn't. "Old-fashioned, perhaps, but nice."
- She stared at me. "Do you know what pearls are? They're ugliness: dirt or sand gets in an oyster and the oyster coats it over so that it won't be irritating."
- 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, Chapter VI:
- (geography) Various Pearl Rivers, particularly the major river of Guangdong in China.
Anagrams
pearl
pearl
See also: Pearl
English
Pearls (1)
Noun
pearl (plural pearls)
- A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in the mantle, or between the mantle and shell, of certain bivalve mollusks, especially in the pearl oysters and river mussels, and sometimes in certain univalves. It is usually due to a secretion of shelly substance around some irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as nacre, or mother-of-pearl. Round lustrous pearls are used in jewellery.
- (figuratively) Something precious.
- Shakespeare
- I see thee compassed with thy kingdom's pearl.
- 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
- Hugh helped himself to bacon. "My dear fellow, she can think what she likes so long as she continues to grill bacon like this. Your wife is a treasure, James—a pearl amongst women; and you can tell her so with my love."
- Shakespeare
- A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing liquid for e.g. medicinal application.
- Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.
- A whitish speck or film on the eye.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
- A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.
- A light-colored tern.
- One of the circle of tubercles which form the bur on a deer's antler.
- (uncountable, typography, printing, dated) The size of type between diamond and agate, standardized as 5-point.
- A fringe or border.
- (obsolete) A jewel or gem.
- Douay Rheims 1635 - Proverbs 20:15
- There is gold, and multitude of pearles: but a precious vessel the lips of knowledge.
- Douay Rheims 1635 - Proverbs 20:15
Derived terms
- pearlescent
- pearliculture, perliculture
- pearly
See also
Translations
rounded shelly concretion produced by certain mollusks
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figuratively: something precious
mother-of-pearl — see mother-of-pearl
brill — see brill
light-colored tern — see tern
one of the tubercles on a deer's antler — see tubercle
5-point type
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fringe or border — see fringe
Verb
pearl (third-person singular simple present pearls, present participle pearling, simple past and past participle pearled)
- To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used also figuratively.
- To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round grains; as, to pearl barley.
- To resemble pearl or pearls.
- To give or hunt for pearls; as, to go pearling.
- (surfing) to dig the nose of one's surfboard into the water, often on takeoff.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "pearl"
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Anagrams
References
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "pearl, n.1". Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2005.