1. n. & v.
--n.
1. a usu. horizontal bar, branch, etc. used by a bird to rest on.
2 a usu. high or precarious place for a person or thing to rest on.
3 a measure of length, esp. for land, of 51/2 yards (see also ROD, POLE).
--v.intr. & tr. (usu. foll. by on) settle or rest, or cause to settle or rest on or as if on a perch etc. (the bird perched on a branch; a town perched on a hill).
Phrases and idioms:
knock a person off his perch
1. vanquish, destroy.
2 make less confident or secure. square perch 301/4 sq. yards.
Etymology: ME f. OF perche, percher f. L pertica pole 2. n. (pl. same or perches) any spiny-finned freshwater edible fish of the genus Perca, esp. P. fluviatilis of Europe.
Etymology: ME f. OF perche f. L perca f. Gk perke