I. ˈpərl, esp before pause or consonant ˈpər.əl; ˈpə̄l, ˈpəil noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English perle, from Middle French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin pernula, diminutive of Latin perna haunch, ham, sea mussel attached to the ocean floor by a peduncle shaped like a ham; akin to Old English fyrsn, fiersn heel, Old Saxon fersna, Old High German fersana, Gothic fairzna heel, Greek pternē heel, hip, Sanskrit pārṣṇi heel
1.
a.
(1) : a dense concretion that is formed in various mollusks by deposition of thin concentric layers of nacre about a foreign particle within or beneath the mantle and is free from or attached to the shell, that occurs in various forms but is typically more or less round, that exhibits various colors but is usually white or light-colored, and that has various degrees of luster — see cultured pearl
(2) : simulated pearl
b. pearls plural : a necklace of pearls
2. : mother-of-pearl
3. : one that is very choice or precious : the finest or noblest of its kind : a supreme rarity
enunciated this pearl of wisdom — J.C.Snaith
learned from him one tale which is a pearl of price — H.J.Laski
4. : something resembling a pearl intrinsically or physically: as
a. dialect England : a whitish film on the eye : cataract
b. : a small round globule (as a teardrop or dewdrop)
pearls of dew glistened on the grass
c. : one of the tubercles forming the burr on an antler — usually used in plural
d. : white shining teeth
a red lip, with two rows of pearl beneath — Lord Byron
e. : one of several small white or silver balls on a coronet
f. : a small piece, fragment, or size especially of coal or of molten metal cooled by being dropped in water
g. : a small white circle on a colored ground (as on a postage stamp)
h. : perle I
i. : one of a succession of beads or small bosses used ornamentally (as on the edge of a piece of furniture)
5. : an old size of type (approximately 5 point) between diamond and agate
6.
a. : shell tint
b. or pearl blue or pearl white : a nearly neutral slightly bluish medium gray that is lighter than battleship gray — called also granite blue, moonbeam
7. : tall oat grass
8. dialect England : tern
9. : one of the rounded concentric masses of squamous epithelial cells characteristic of certain tumors
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English perlen, from perle, n.
transitive verb
1. : to set or adorn with pearls or with mother-of-pearl
2. : to sprinkle or bead with pearly drops
sweat pearled his forehead — William DuBois
morning dew pearled the garden
3. : to form especially by machine into small round grains
pearl barley
4. : to give a pearly color, luster, or radiance to
his mind was still pearled with … roseate ideals — Francis Hackett
intransitive verb
1. : to form drops or beads like pearls
rain pearled down the window
2. : to fish or search for pearls
tried gold mining, pearling, and fur trapping — Current Biography
3. of hot syrup : to form small or large bubbles in boiling usually at 220° F or a long thread without breaking when dropped from a spoon
III. adjective
Etymology: pearl (I)
1. : of, relating to, or resembling pearl : made of or adorned with pearls or mother-of-pearl : having the color or luster of pearl : pearly
2. : having grains or particles of medium size — compare pearl barley , pearl hominy , pearl tapioca
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration of purl
1. Britain : one of a series of tiny loops forming a decorative edging usually on ribbon or lace : picot
2. : purl I 5
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Britain : to finish (an edge) with picot
VI. intransitive verb
of a surfboard : to make a nose dive into the trough of a wave