pearl

pearl
1.
n. & v.
—n.
1 a (often attrib.) a usu. white or bluish-grey hard mass formed within the shell of a pearl-oyster or other bivalve mollusc, highly prized as a gem for its lustre (pearl necklace). b an imitation of this. c (in pl.) a necklace of pearls. d = mother-of-pearl (cf. seed-pearl).
2 a precious thing; the finest example.
3 anything resembling a pearl, e.g. a dewdrop, tear, etc.
—v.
1 tr. poet. a sprinkle with pearly drops. b make pearly in colour etc.
2 tr. reduce (barley etc.) to small rounded grains.
3 intr. fish for pearl-oysters.
4 intr. poet. form pearl-like drops.
Phrases and idioms:
cast pearls before swine offer a treasure to a person unable to appreciate it. pearl ash commercial potassium carbonate. pearl barley barley reduced to small round grains by grinding. pearl bulb a translucent electric light bulb. pearl button a button made of mother-of-pearl or an imitation of it. pearl-diver a person who dives for pearl-oysters. pearl millet a tall cereal, Pennisetum typhoides. pearl onion a very small onion used in pickles. pearl-oyster any of various marine bivalve molluscs of the genus Pinctada, bearing pearls.
Derivatives:
pearler n.
Etymology: ME f. OF perle prob. f. L perna leg (applied to leg-of-mutton-shaped bivalve)
2.
n. Brit. = PICOT.
Etymology: var. of PURL(1)

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pearl — (engl. für „Perle“) bezeichnet: Pearl (Pferdefarbe), ein Gen, das die Fellfarbe von Pferden aufhellt Pearl (Tanz), einen Solo Tanzstil Pearl (Gedicht), ein mittelenglisches Gedicht Pearl (Band), eine US amerikanische Rockband Pearl (Album), das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pearl — Pearl, n. [OE. perle, F. perle, LL. perla, perula, probably fr. (assumed) L. pirulo, dim. of L. pirum a pear. See {Pear}, and cf. {Purl} to mantle.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with varying… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pearl —   [Abk. für Process and Experiment Automatisation Realtime Language, dt. »Echtzeitsprache für die Automatisierung von Prozessen und Experimenten«], eine höhere Programmiersprache zur weitgehend systemunabhängigen Programmierung von Multitasking… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • pearl — pearl1 [pʉrl] n. [ME perle < MFr < VL * perla, *perula, altered (? after L sphaerula,SPHERULE) < L perna, a sea mussel, lit., a ham: from the shape of its peduncle] 1. a smooth, hard, usually white or bluish gray body of varied but… …   English World dictionary

  • Pearl — Альбом Дженис Джоплин Дата выпуска 1 февраля 1971 года Записан 5 сентября – …   Википедия

  • pearl|y — «PUR lee», adjective, pearl|i|er, pearl|i|est, noun, plural lies. –adj. 1. like a pearl; having the color or luster of pearls: »pearly teeth …   Useful english dictionary

  • pearl — [ pɜrl ] noun * 1. ) count a small round jewel that is white and shiny and that grows inside the shell of an OYSTER: a string of pearls a pearl necklace a ) an artificial jewel like this 2. ) uncount a hard substance that is inside some shells… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Pearl — Pearl, IL U.S. village in Illinois Population (2000): 187 Housing Units (2000): 96 Land area (2000): 1.506776 sq. miles (3.902531 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.086843 sq. miles (0.224922 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.593619 sq. miles (4.127453 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • pearl — (n.) mid 13c., from O.Fr. perle (13c.), M.L. perla (mid 13c.), of unknown origin. Perhaps from V.L. *pernula, dim. of L. perna in Sicily, pearl, earlier sea mussel, lit. ham, so called for the shape of the mollusk shells. Another theory connects… …   Etymology dictionary

  • pearl — [pə:l US pə:rl] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(jewel)¦ 2¦(hard substance)¦ 3 pearls of wisdom 4 cast/throw pearls before swine 5¦(liquid)¦ 6¦(excellent thing/person)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: perle, from Vulgar Latin pernula, from Latin… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Pearl — Pearl, a. Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of mother of pearl. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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