pearl

[ purl ]

/ pɜrl /

noun

a smooth, rounded bead formed within the shells of certain mollusks and composed of the mineral aragonite or calcite in a matrix, deposited in concentric layers as a protective coating around an irritating foreign object: valued as a gem when lustrous and finely colored. Compare cultured pearl.

something resembling this, as various synthetic substances for use in costume jewelry.

something similar in form, luster, etc., as a dewdrop or a capsule of medicine.

something precious or choice; the finest example of anything: pearls of wisdom.

a very pale gray approaching white but commonly with a bluish tinge.

mother-of-pearl: a pearl-handled revolver.

Printing. a 5-point type.

Also called epithelial pearl. Pathology. a rounded mass of keratin occurring in certain carcinomas of the skin.

verb (used with object)

to adorn or stud with or as with pearls.

to make like pearls, as in form or color.

verb (used without object)

to dive, fish, or search for pearls.

to assume a pearllike form or appearance.

adjective

resembling a pearl in form or color.

of or relating to pearls: pearl diving.

set with a pearl or pearls or covered or inlaid with pearls or mother-of-pearl: a pearl necklace.

having or reduced to small, rounded grains.

Idioms for pearl

cast pearls before swine, to offer or give something of great value to those incapable of appreciating it: She read them Shakespeare but it was casting pearls before swine.

Origin of pearl

1300–50; Middle English perle < Middle French < Italian or assumed Vulgar Latin *perla (> German Perle, Old English pærl), for Latin *pernula (> Portuguese perola, perhaps Old Saxon përula), diminutive of Latin perna sea mussel

OTHER WORDS FROM pearl

pearl·er, noun pearl·ish, adjective pearl·like, adjective

Words nearby pearl

pear, pear haw, pear psylla, pear thrips, pear-shaped, pearl, pearl ash, pearl barley, pearl blue, pearl city, pearl danio

Definition for pearls (2 of 4)

pearl ²

[ purl ]

/ pɜrl /

verb (used with or without object), noun

purl¹.

Definition for pearls (3 of 4)

Pearl

[ purl ]

/ pɜrl /

noun

a town in central Mississippi.

a female given name.

Definition for pearls (4 of 4)

purl ¹

or pearl

[ purl ]

/ pɜrl /

verb (used with or without object)

to knit with a reverse stitch.

to finish with loops or a looped edging.

noun

a basic stitch in knitting, the reverse of the knit, formed by pulling a loop of the working yarn back through an existing stitch and then slipping that stitch off the needle. Compare knit(def 11).

one of a series of small loops along the edge of lace braid.

thread made of twisted gold or silver wire.

Origin of purl

First recorded in 1520–30; variant of obsolete or dial. pirl to twist (threads, etc.) into a cord

Example sentences from the Web for pearls

Later in the film, when she comes on wearing a strand of pearls, he snorts, “She looks like the queen.”

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days |David Freeman |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Caligula drank “pearls of great price dissolved in vinegar.”

An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance |Stefan Beck |November 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Both have elicited the same hand wringing and pearls clutching.

Dissed By Her Doctor for Wanting HIV Protection |Heather Boerner |September 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Plenty of us women were enjoying the same behavior (clutch your pearls); it was fun.

Dear Princeton Mom, Stop Telling Me To Husband-Hunt |Emily Shire |February 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Miller first appeared on the cover of Vogue in 1927 in a blue hat and pearls, drawn by renowned French illustrator Georges Lepape.

‘Lee Miller in Fashion’: A Look at the Famed War Photographer’s More Unknown Work |Erin Cunningham |October 7, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
She too holds a fan, and wears a gown of rich brocade with bodice and sleeves thickly sown with pearls.

Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 |Julia Cartwright
Each nobleman received a bag of diamonds as a gift, each noble lady a rope of pearls.

The Green Forest Fairy Book |Loretta Ellen Brady
She was not wearing her beautiful rope of pearls, therefore they were, without a doubt, safe in the case.

The Golden Face |William Le Queux
A week ago these pearls were round the fair neck of my Lady Wendover.

Madame Flirt |Charles E. Pearce
What had become of her jewels, her bracelets of diamonds, her chaplet of pearls?

The Spanish Cavalier |Charlotte Maria Tucker

British Dictionary definitions for pearls (1 of 4)

pearl ¹

/ (pɜːl) /

noun

a hard smooth lustrous typically rounded structure occurring on the inner surface of the shell of a clam or oyster: consists of calcium carbonate secreted in layers around an invading particle such as a sand grain; much valued as a gem Related adjectives: margaric, margaritic

any artificial gem resembling this

See mother-of-pearl

a person or thing that is like a pearl, esp in beauty or value

a pale greyish-white colour, often with a bluish tinge

a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 5 point

adjective

of, made of, or set with pearl or mother-of-pearl

having the shape or colour of a pearl

verb

(tr) to set with or as if with pearls

to shape into or assume a pearl-like form or colour

(intr) to dive or search for pearls

Word Origin for pearl

C14: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin pernula (unattested), from Latin perna sea mussel

British Dictionary definitions for pearls (2 of 4)

pearl ²

/ (pɜːl) /

noun, verb

a variant spelling of purl 1 (def. 2), purl 1 (def. 3), purl 1 (def. 5)

British Dictionary definitions for pearls (3 of 4)

purl ¹

/ (pɜːl) /

noun

Also called: purl stitch a knitting stitch made by doing a plain stitch backwards

a decorative border, as of lace

gold or silver wire thread

verb

to knit (a row or garment) in purl stitch

to edge (something) with a purl

Also (for senses 2, 3, 5): pearl

Word Origin for purl

C16: from dialect pirl to twist into a cord

British Dictionary definitions for pearls (4 of 4)

purl ²

/ (pɜːl) /

verb

(intr) (of a stream, etc) to flow with a gentle curling or rippling movement and a murmuring sound

noun

a curling movement of water; eddy

a murmuring sound, as of a shallow stream

Word Origin for purl

C16: related to Norwegian purla to bubble

Medical definitions for pearls

pearl

[ pûrl ]

n.

A small sphere of thin glass containing amyl nitrite or other volatile fluid, designed to be crushed, as in a handkerchief, so that its contents can be inhaled.

Any of a number of small tough masses of mucus occurring in the sputum in asthma.

Scientific definitions for pearls

pearl

[ pûrl ]

A smooth, slightly iridescent, white or grayish rounded growth inside the shells of some mollusks. Pearls form as a reaction to the presence of a foreign particle, and consist of thin layers of mother-of-pearl that are deposited around the particle. The pearls of oysters are often valued as gems.

Idioms and Phrases with pearls

pearls

see cast pearls before swine.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pearl