I. ˈpərch, -ə̄-, -əi- noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English perche, from Old French, from Latin pertica pole, staff, measuring stick; probably akin to Greek ptorthos young branch, shoot, Armenian ort' vine, grapevine
1.
a. obsolete : a wooden prop or pole
b.
(1) : a frame of uprights with a horizontal bar for holding cloth at full width during inspection
(2) : a textile machine with a similar frame
c. : a pole used especially to mark a buoy, shoal, or rock
the end of the channel … where two iron perches stood — J.O.Hannay
d. : the main shaft connecting the front and rear axles of a coach or other vehicle : reach
e. : a long pole used by an acrobat for climbing and balancing feats
his celebrated headstand atop a swaying forty-foot perch — R.L.Taylor
2. : a bar or peg on which something is hung
spotlights … hung from perches in a forest of pipes above the stage — Winthrop Sargeant
specifically : a horizontal pole to which a skin is attached while being scraped with a moon knife in the hand softening of leather
3.
a. : a roost for a bird
b. : something that resembles a roost: as
(1) : a small usually elevated seat for a liveryman on a coach or carriage
(2) : a short nonretractable trapeze on an airship
c. : a resting place or vantage point : seat , station
our favorite perch … was the roof of the wheelhouse — J.W.Brown
from my perch in an attic window — Jan Valtin
d. : a secure or prominent position : eminence
his new perch as president of one of the most important concert managements in the country — Helen Howe
e. : a pad on the axle of an automotive vehicle on which the spring is mounted — called also spring chair
4.
a. chiefly Britain : rod I 3
b. : any of various units of measure (as 24 3/4 cubic feet representing a pile 1 rod long by 1 foot by 1 1/2 feet, or 16 1/2 cubic feet, or 25 cubic feet) for stonework
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English perchen, from Middle French percher, from perche, n. — more at perch I
transitive verb
1. : to place on or as if on a perch, a height, or other precarious spot : set , station
perch a pullet at three months
perch a hat on his head
red brick buildings with carved white sandstone demons perched on their entrance gates — Faubion Bowers
a cottage … perched on a wild sea cliff — Van Wyck Brooks
islands perched on the edge of Europe — Jacquetta & Christopher Hawkes
perched himself on the table, his hands gripping the edges of it — Rafael Sabatini
2. : to examine (cloth from the loom) for imperfections by placing on a perch
intransitive verb
1. : to come to rest often uneasily or precariously on or as if on a perch : settle oneself : alight , sit
flew off to perch on their eyries — C.G.D.Roberts
the pianist perches on a small suitcase to make his chair high enough — Claudia Cassidy
perch happily on a hillside and watch the sea — M.P.O'Connor
2. : to occupy a usually precipitous location
tall apartment buildings perch on the top of rocky cliffs — American Guide Series: New York City
III. noun
( plural perch or perches )
Etymology: Middle English perche, from Middle French, from Latin perca, from Greek perkē; akin to Old English forn trout, Old High German forhana trout, faro colored, Swedish färna whiting, Latin porcus, a spiny fish, Greek perknos dusky, dark, Sanskrit pṛśni speckled, and perhaps to Greek prēthein to blow up — more at froth
1.
a. : a rather small European freshwater spiny-finned fish ( Perca fluviatilis )
b. : a closely related fish ( P. flavescens ) of the eastern and central United States inhabiting lakes and streams and well known as a sport and food fish — see yellow perch
2.
a. : any of numerous marine or freshwater teleost fishes more or less resembling the European perch and mostly belonging to Percidae, Centrarchidae, Serranidae, and related families — usually used in combination; compare black perch , white perch
b. West : surf fish