| 释义 |
▪ I. pearl, n.1|pɜːl|
Forms: 4–6 perle, peerle, 5 perl, (perll, perell, -ill, perril, 6 pearel, Sc. peirl(e, peirll), 6–7 pearle, 5– pearl.
[ME. a. F. perle (also pesle, pelle, peele, pele, 13–14th c., Godef.) = Pr., It., Sp., Pg. perla, Pg. also perola, med.L. perla (J. de Vitry, a 1244), pella, perula, perulus. From Romanic also OHG. perala, berla, MHG. perle, berle, Ger. perle, MLG. perle, parle, MDu. pārele, Du. paarl. Ulterior etymology unsettled.
Many identify the word with med.L. pērula, in Isidore pirula, dim. of L. pirum, Com. Rom. pēra pear, used in reference to shape. Others think perla altered from perna, the form in Neapolitan and Sicilian dial., and found in Sicilian Lat., in Constitut. of Frederick King of Sicily, early 13th c. (Du Cange), which they would identify with L. perna, ham, leg of mutton, also a leg-of-mutton-shaped marine bivalve, mentioned by Pliny. A dim. of the latter, *pernula, conjectured in Du Cange (ed. 1762) is favoured by Gröber. Another suggested source is L. pilula globule, whence, by dissimilation of l..l to r..l, *pirula (for which Littré compares Venetian and Veronese pirola from pilula). See Diez, Littré, Körting, etc.]
I.
1. a. A nacreous concretion formed within the shell of various bivalve molluscs around some foreign body (e.g. a grain of sand), composed of filmy layers of carbonate of lime interstratified with animal membrane; it is of hard smooth texture, of globular, pear-shaped, oval, or irregular form, and of various colours, usually white or bluish-grey; often having a beautiful lustre, and hence highly prized as a gem; formerly also used in medicine. See also mother of pearl, seed pearl.
The chief source is the Pearl-oyster, Meleagrina margaritifera, of the Indian Seas, but pearls are yielded by many other marine, as well as by some freshwater shells, the pearl-mussels, Unionidæ.
[a1259Matt. Paris Chron. Maj. (Rolls) V. 489 Erat quidam lapis preciosus, qui dicitur vulgariter Perla.] 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 1 Perle plesaunte to prynces paye, To clanly clos in golde so clere. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 12 Draf weore hem leuere Þen al þe presciouse Peerles þat in paradys waxen. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 153 (221) Of o perle fyn & oryental Hyre white coroun was I-makyd al. c1400Mandeville (1839) xiv. 158 The fyn Perl congeleþ and wexeþ gret of the dew of heuene. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 2 A margerye perle aftyr the phylosophyr Growyth on a shelle of lytyl pryhs. 1526Tindale Matt. xiii. 46 When he had founde one precious pearle [Wyclif, oo preciouse margarite]. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 290 A Chapelet of fine Perles that he ware on his hed. a1600Montgomerie Sonn. xlix, Thoght peirlis give pryce, and diamonds be deir. 1607Dekker & Webster Sir T. Wyatt D.'s Wks. 1873 III. 129 Cheekes purer then the Maiden orient pearle. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 320 The Pearl is a Jewel supposed to be the Geniture of a Shell-fish..congealed into a very fair, transparent, Diaphanous, beautiful Stone. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. VII. 54 Whether pearls be a disease or an accident in the animal is scarce worth enquiry. 1883Fish. Exhib. Catal. 77 Fancy Pearls, such as black, pink, yellow, grey; from Australia, South Pacific Islands, &c.
b. (without a or pl.) As name of the substance.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 207 Hiȝe pynakled of cler quyt perle. Ibid. 255 Set on hyr coroun of perle orient. 1390Gower Conf. II. 45 The Sadles..With Perle and gold so wel begon. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxli. 273 A croune of gold pyght with ryche perle and precious stones. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. i. 77 Why sir, what cernes it you, if I weare Pearle and gold? 1626Bacon Sylva §380 There hath been a tradition, that pearl, and coral, and turquois⁓stone, that have lost their colours, may be recovered by burying in the earth. 1717Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 1 Apr., A large bouquet of jewels, made like natural flowers: that is, the buds of pearl..the jessamines, of diamonds,..etc. 1841–4Emerson Ess., Compensation Wks. (Bohn) I. 50 Like the wounded oyster, he mends his shell with pearl.
c. = mother of pearl. Chiefly attrib.: see 17 a.
d. artificial pearl, an imitation of the natural gem, made of glass, etc. blister pearl, a flattish excrescence of pearl adhering to the shell. Roman pearl (see quot. 1875).
essence of pearl, an imitation of mother-of-pearl prepared from the scales of the bleak, herring, and other fish; now usu. called pearl essence (see sense 18).
1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II.) 114 Whether my pearles be Orientall, or but of Venice. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. ii, The artificial Pearl made at Venice, consisting of Mercury and Glass. 1791Macie in Phil. Trans. LXXXI. 379 By adding the alkali to the bit of Tabasheer in exceedingly small quantities at a time, this substance was converted into a pearl of clear colourless glass. 1805C. Wilmot Let. 26 Aug. in Russ. Jrnls. (1934) i. 170 A dress of white crape & roman pearls & white cameo ornaments. 1832G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 236 He then proceeded to line the interior surface of these with the powdered fish scales, which he called essence of pearl, or essence d'Orient. 1875Ure's Dict. Arts III. 518 Italy also manufactures pearls by a method borrowed from the Chinese: they are known under the name of Roman pearls, and are a very good imitation of natural ones.
2. Her. In blazoning by precious stones, the designation of the tincture argent or white.
1572J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 56 b, The fielde is of y⊇ Diamond, a Bonaze Perle, Unguled topaze. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. i. 5/1 He beareth Pearl, a Chaplet garnished. 1725Coats Dict. Her., Pearl, being White, is us'd instead of Argent, by those who blazon the Arms of Great Men by Precious Stones instead of Colours and Metals. c1828Berry Encycl. Her. I. Gloss.
3. fig.
a. Something especially precious, noble, or choice; the finest or best member or part; a fine or noble example or type.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 242 Art þou my perle þat I haf playned? 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 85 Also þis ȝere kyng Egebrede wedded Emme, þe perle and þe precious stone of Normanes. 1503Dunbar Thistle & Rose 180 Welcome to be our princes of honour, Our perle, our plesans and our paramour. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. vii. 71 Our prettie Prince, the peirle of all this land. 1605Shakes. Macb. v. viii. 56. 1639 Shirley Gentlem. Venice i. 11 He is the very pearl Of curtesie. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxv, Ah, benedicite! how he will mourn over the fall of such a pearl of knighthood. 1859Tennyson Elaine 114 Guinevere, The pearl of beauty.
b. Prov. to cast pearls before swine, to offer or give a good thing to one who is incapable of appreciating it, but may defile or abuse it. (From Matt. vii. 6.)
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 9 Noli mittere Margeri perles Among hogges. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 110 Þus comaundeth crist þat men schullen not ȝeue holy þingis to hondis & putten precious perlis to hoggis. 1526Tindale Matt. vii. 6 Nether caste ye youre pearles [Wyclif margaritis] before swyne. 1533Gau Richt Vay 104 As the suine trampis the precious peirlis onder thair feit. 1645Milton 2nd Sonn. Tetrach., This is got by casting Pearl to Hoggs. 1848Dickens Dombey xxiii, Oh I do a thankless thing, and cast pearls before swine!
II. In transferred senses.
†4.
a. The pupil of the eye; the crystalline lens.
1340Ayenb. 158 Ase a-ye mi wyl me be-houeþ to zyenne and o[n]deruonge ine þe perle of þe eȝe þe ssepþe of þe þinge þet is him be-uore. 1604Wright Passions ii. i. 48 If..some darknesse fall vpon the eyes, a dimme cloud is cast before the pearles thereof.
†b. A thin white film or opacity growing over the eye; a kind of cataract. Obs. or dial. [med.L. perula, Du Cange.][c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 251 Þou schalt se þan vpon his iȝe a whit þing as it were a peerle.] 1382Wyclif Lev. xxi. 20 If crokid rigge, or bleer eyed; if whijt perle hauinge in the eye. c1440Promp. Parv. 394/2 Peerle, yn the eye, glaucoma. 1584Cogan Haven Health cxxvi. (1612) 109 A certaine experiment to take away a fleame or pearle from the eye. 1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 55/1 For Catarractes or Pearles of the Eyes. 1666Spurstowe Spir. Chym. 21 Physicians..who call..the white film which taketh away the delightful sight a Pearl in the Eye. 1747Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 62 It cures Pearls, Rheums, and often Blindness itself. c1820in Sheffield Gloss. (1888), Pearl, a cataract in the eye.
5. A small and round drop or globule resembling a pearl in shape or aspect; e.g. a dewdrop, a tear.
c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture 283 Pike not youre nose, ne þat hit be droppynge with no peerlis clere. 1513Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 134 The plane pulderyt with semely settis sovnd, Bedyit full of dewy peirlis rovnd. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 1213 Shee..wip't the brinish pearle from her bright eies. 1696–7Lister in Phil. Trans. XIX. 373 Small Transparent Pearls or Drops of a liquid Gum. 1704Pope Pastorals, Winter 31 Now hung with pearls the dropping trees appear. 1852R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour (1893) 339 ‘Don't know’, replied the boy,..as he rubbed a pearl off his nose on to the back of his hand.
6. Rhetorically applied to white glistening teeth. Also collective: cf. ‘ivory’.
1586G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. 34 Calling..her teeth Pearles, her lips Corall. 1648Herrick Hesper., Hymne to Venus, Goddesse, I do love a girle, Rubie-lipt and tooth'd with pearl. 1775Sheridan St. Patr. Day i. i, I believe I have drawn half a score of her poor dear pearls. 1824Byron Juan xvi. cxxi, A red lip, with two rows of pearl beneath.
7. One of the bony tubercles encircling the bur or base of a deer's antler.
1575Turberv. Venerie 54 That which is about the crust of the beame is termed pearles. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Pearls, the little Knobs on the Bur of a Stag. 1873Black Pr. Thule xxv, You will discourse to your friends of the span, and the pearls of the antlers, and the crockets.
8.
†a. Pearls of Spain: the white grape-hyacinth (from the shape of its flowers). Obs. rare.
1597Gerarde Herbal, Table Eng. Names, Pearles of Spaine. 1629Parkinson Parad. in Sole 115 Some English Gentlewomen call the white Grape-flower Pearles of Spaine.
b. An oat-like grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum) with knotted or tuberous base: = pearl-grass 2.
1886S. A. Stewart in Britten & Holland Plant-n. 224 It [Avena elatior] is known in Co. Antrim as Pearl; the knobs at the base of the stem are the pearls. I have been informed that these ‘pearls’ are of great value as a cure for inflamed eyes.
9. One of several small white or silver balls set on a coronet; a similar ball as a heraldic bearing; also, a small white circle on a coloured ground.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. i. 4/1 The top of the circle set close together with Pearls or Buttons of Silver. 1707Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. iii. iii. 273 His [Marquis's] Coronet hath Pearls and Strawberry Leaves, intermixt round of equal height. 1725Coats Dict. Her., Viscounts Coronet has neither Flowers, nor Points rais'd above the Circle..but only Pearls plac'd on the Circle itself. 1882Cussans Hand-bk. Her. xiv. (ed. 3) 179. 1897 W. Morley Cat. Stamps Gt. Brit. 19, 1d. pale lilac, 14 pearls..5s.; 1d. dark lilac, 16 pearls..6d.
10. Printing. Name of a size of type, formerly the smallest used, now intermediate between agate and diamond.
1656Blount Glossogr. s.v. Character, The Printers..names of their several sorts of Letters are 1. Pearl, which is the least. 2. Non-Pareil [etc.]. 1660Fuller Mixt Contempl. ix. (1841) 223 The pearle Bible printed at London, 1653. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing ii. ⁋2. 1824 J. Johnson Typogr. II. v. 83 As this was..a greater advance to perfection, it..was designated Pearl. 1887T. B. Reed Hist. Lett. Foundries 40 Pearl, though an English body in Moxon's day, appears to have been known both in France and Holland at an earlier date.
11. Eastern Ch. (rendering µαργαρίτης). A small particle of the consecrated bread: = particle 2 c.
1847Card. Wiseman Unreality Angl. Belief Ess. 1853 II. 406 In the Coptic Liturgy..after the division of the Host, the priest shall take one pearl (or particle) of the three above named. [1876–80Smith & Cheetham Dict. Chr. Antiq., Margarita is a term for the particle of the bread which is broken off and placed in the cup as a symbol of the union of the Body and Blood of Christ.]
12. A small fragment or size of various substances: e.g. one of the pear-shaped granules into which molten metal cools when poured in drops into cold water; a small piece of clean coal; a name for a small pill or pilule, esp. a gelatinous capsule employed for administering liquid medicines in the form of pills.
1872Young Englishwoman Oct. 543/1 Ether pearls, small round capsules about the size of a pea, are of marvellous efficacy in instantly calming attacks of Asthma. 1873E. Spon Workshop Receipts Ser. i. 191/2 Small articles are brightened in a long narrow bag, where they are put with copper pearls. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 230 Phosphorus, gr. 1/30 in pearls of which three to six are to be taken daily. 1901Scotsman 15 Oct. 4/8 (Of small coal) After being washed, the pearls are drained and elevated by conveyers to a hopper.
13. A degree of condensation and stickiness reached by clarified syrup when boiled for confectionery: see pearled ppl. a.1 4.
1883R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 152/1 There are 7 essential degrees in boiling sugar:..They are:—(1) small thread, (2) large thread, (3) little pearl, (4) large pearl. Ibid. 162/2 Boil some clarified loaf sugar to large pearl.
14. Short for pearl-moth: see 18.
1832J. Rennie Consp. Butterfl. & Moths 151–2 Margaritia (Stephens). The Variegated Pearl..Very rare..The Long⁓winged Pearl..The Sulphur Pearl [etc.].
15. Name of a kind of firework.
1884St. James's Gaz. 13 June 10/2 The display included..discharges of rockets and shells..and a cloud of pearls.
16. a. The colour of a pearl, a clear pale bluish-grey. Also attrib. or as adj. = pearl-coloured.
1688Lond. Gaz. No. 2366/4, 6 pair of womens silk [hose] pearl, blew and green. 1899Westm. Gaz. 2 Dec. 1/3 He watched the first streak of dawn change from a thin grey line of pearl into a broad band of pink and amethyst.
b. Applied to an electric light bulb that is frosted on the inside so as to diffuse the light.
1930Engineering 21 Mar. 393/1 The panels are illuminated from behind by a standard 40-watt ‘pearl’ lamp backed by aluminium reflectors. 1938Times 3 Feb. 17/1 The conclusion reached is that lamps of the pearl type give a 7½ per cent better light than the opal type at present in use. 1972‘R. Crawford’ Whip Hand i. iii. 12 A single pearl bulb lit the store.
III. attrib. and Comb.
17. a. attributive: (a) of pearl or pearls, adorned with pearls, as pearl-bead, pearl-broker, pearl-chain, pearl-collar, pearl-colour, pearl necklace, pearl-rope, pearl string, pearl stud, pearl-sword, pearl-wreath; (b) made of mother-of-pearl, as pearl spoon; (c) in sense 5, as pearl-cup, pearl-dew, pearl-drop. b. objective and obj. genitive, as pearl-cutter, pearl-driller, pearl-worker; pearl-bearing, pearl-making, pearl-producing, pearl-sliding, pearl-yielding adjs.c. instrumental, as pearl-besprinkled, pearl-bordered, pearl-crowned, pearl-enamelled, pearl-encrusted, pearl-flushed, pearl-gemmed, pearl-handled, pearl-headed, pearl-hung, pearl-lined, pearl-lipped, pearl-paved, pearl-set, pearl-studded, pearl-wreathed adjs.d. parasynthetic, as pearl-coloured, pearl-hued, pearl-tinted adjs.e. similative, as pearl-blue, pearl-bright, pearl-grey (also as n.), pearl-pale, pearl-pure, pearl-round adjs.; also pearl-like adj.
a1821Keats Hyperion ii. 284 Like *pearl-beads dropping sudden from their string.
1667H. Oldenburg in Phil. Trans. II. 431 *Pearl-bearing Oysters are not good to eat.
1827Butterfly Collector's Vade Mecum 100 Melitæa Euphrosyne, *Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
1914G. Frankau Tid'apa (1915) v. 29 *Pearl-bright under purple eyelids the unshed dew of a tear.
c1610Lady Compton in Antiq. Rep. (1808) III. 438, I would have..6000l. for a *Pearl Chain... I am so reasonable. 1795Coleridge in Cottle Remin. (1847) 15 Benevolence is the silken thread that runs through the pearl-chain of all their virtues.
1611Cotgr. s.v. Gemmé, Couleur gemmée, a *pearle, or peacocke colour. 1655Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 209 The best Milk is of a Pearl Colour.
1604T. M. Black Bk. in Middleton's Wks. (Bullen) VIII. 40 His *pearl-coloured silk stockings.
1855Bailey Fairy Tale in Mystic, etc. (ed. 2) 151 O'er the fields a *pearl-dew glistened.
1709Eng. Post 21 Mar. Advt., Known to be a *Pearl-Driller by Trade.
1722R. Beverley Hist. Virginia iii. i. 141 At his Ear is hung a fine Shell with *Pearl Drops. 1824Sir J. Bowring & H. S. Van Dyk Batavian Anthol. 143 Dews..on the Roses lie, Whose leaves beneath the pearl-drops bend.
1943D. Gascoyne Poems 1937–42 60 Like Some priceless *pearl-enamelled toy.
1952R. Campbell tr. Baudelaire's Poems 193 While Phoebe sheers Through *pearl-flushed hours, To rain down tears In glittering showers.
1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 520 A turtle-dove of Africa,..her *pearl-gray plumage. 1875J. Blackwood Let. 30 Nov. in Geo. Eliot Lett. (1956) VI. 195, I rather lean to the pearl grey which he has told me is the name of the colour. 1931V. Woolf Waves 110 Among the lustrous green, pink, pearl-grey women stand upright the bodies of men. 1969in Halpert & Story Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland 182 Costumes used for disguise are listed:..fancy vests, beaver hats, pearl-gray spats. 1976Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 9 Dec. 18/2 (Advt.), 1973 Capri 1600 XL, pearl grey, 44,934, {pstlg}1280.
1901Wide World Mag. VIII. 156/1 A *pearl-handled penknife.
1839Bailey Festus xix. (1852) 275 Violet, rose or *pearl-hued.
1965F. Sargeson Mem. Peon vi. 181 A short distance from my Leonora's *pearl-hung ear.
1846Browning Lett. 27 June (1899) II. 274 All your kindness is pure, entire, *pearl-like for roundness and completeness.
1924J. A. Thomson Science Old & New xx. 110 It seems highly probable that the walls of the *pearl-making sac are in a state of inflammation.
1708J. Lovett Let. 1 May in M. M. Verney Verney Lett. (1930) I. xii. 202 Tell Deare Bess her *Pearle Necklas is come. 1819M. Wilmot Let. 8 Dec. (1935) 33, I can wear my pearl necklace clasped with the amathyst behind. 1972J. Wilson Hide & Seek ii. 35 He reached for her imitation pearl necklace.
1895W. B. Yeats Poems 6 A *pearl-pale, high-born lady.
1908Westm. Gaz. 30 Dec. 2/3 There, in ‘the Garden’ roofed with glass, He flutes on the *pearl-paved ridge of dawn.
1879Dowden Southey iv. 87 It is October that brings most often those days faultless, *pearl⁓pure, of affecting influence.
1925E. Sitwell Troy Park 75 And there the *pearlropes fall like shawls.
1552Huloet, *Pearle seller, margaritarius.
1609Markham Fam. Whore (1868) 45 That *pearl-set mouth.
1948C. Day Lewis Poems 1943–47 15 What unseen clue Threads my *pearl-sliding hours.
1577in Archæologia XIX. 296 Mending my *Pearle Spoons..ijs. vjd.
1939L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside xxi. 142 ‘Aren't those *pearl strings pretty?’..‘You'd almost think they were real.’
1927E. Glyn ‘It’ xix. 172 His shirt with its incomparable two *pearl studs. 1975S. Lauder Killing Time on Corvo i. 8 Her plain grey suit and hat, pearl studs, gloves.
1896Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 3/2 The City of London..contributing..the famous *pearl⁓sword with its splendid scabbard which Queen Elizabeth presented to the Corporation.
1642H. More Song Soul ii. App. xcix, Fair comely bodies,..rose-cheek'd, ruby-lip'd, *pearl-teeth'd, star-eyn'd.
1908Daily Chron. 29 Sept. 7/5 He..entered the deserted garden where *pearl-tinted spikes of iris perfumed the air.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Pearl-worker, a workman who cuts up mother-of-pearl shell, or forms it into buttons, papier mâché [etc.].
1839Bailey Festus xxi. (1852) 377 Like the pure *pearl-wreath which enrings thy brow.
18. Special combs.: pearl-berry, the fruit (a small drupe) of an evergreen rosaceous shrub (Margyricarpus selosus) often cultivated on rock-work; also the shrub itself; also fig.; pearl-bird, (a) the guinea-fowl, so called from its white-spotted plumage; (b) the pearl-spotted barbet, an African bird of genus Trachyphonus; pearl-bush, a large handsome Chinese shrub (Spiræa or Exochorda grandiflora), bearing racemes of white flowers; pearl button, (a) a button made of a pearl; (b) a button made of mother-of-pearl or an imitation of it; pearl-coated a., (a) dial.: see quot. 1828; (b) covered, as a pill, with a smooth pearly-white coating; so pearl-coating; † pearl-cordial, a cordial containing powdered pearl; pearl-disease, tuberculosis of the serous membranes in cattle; pearl essence, pearlessence, essence of pearl (see pearl n.1 1 d), or a synthetic imitation of this; pearl-everlasting, the common white everlasting, Gnaphalium margaritaceum (Treas. Bot. 1866); pearl-eye, † (a) cataract in the eye (obs.); (b) an eye of a pigeon or other bird, resembling a pearl; so pearl-eyed a.; pearl-fish, † (a) a shell-fish producing pearls; (b) a fish (e.g. the bleak) from the shining scales of which artificial pearl is made (Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895); (c) = fierasfer; pearl-fly: see quot.; pearl-fruit = pearl-berry (Treas. Bot. 1866); pearl-glimmer = pearl-mica; † pearl-gooseberry, a variety of gooseberry; pearl-grain, the grain or unit of weight by which the value of pearls is estimated; a carat-grain, one fourth of a carat; pearl-hardening, a preparation of gypsum used to give body and substance to poor paper; pearl-hen, the guinea fowl; † pearl-julep, a sweet drink made with sugar of pearl; pearl-lashing Naut., ‘the lashing which holds the jaws of the gaff’ (Cent. Dict. 1890); † pearl-mica, an obsolete synonym of Margarite; pearl-moss, a name for carrageen (Chondrus crispus); pearl-moth, a pyralid moth of the genus Botys or Margaritia, so called from its shining appearance; pearl-mussel, a species of mussel bearing pearls; pearl-nautilus, the pearly nautilus; pearl-onion: see onion 2; pearl-opal = cacholong; pearl-perch, a sea-fish of New South Wales (Glaucosoma scapulare, family Percidæ), excellent for food; † pearl-plant: see quots.; pearl-pottery: see quot.; pearl-powder, a cosmetic used to impart whiteness to the skin; = pearl-white; hence pearl-powdered a.; pearl-sago, sago in small hard rounded grains; pearl-side, the name of a fish, the Sheppey argentine (Scapelus pennanti or humboldtii), having pearly spots on the sides; pearl-sinter, a synonym of Fiorite; pearl-snail, the pearly nautilus; pearl-spar, ‘an early name for crystallized dolomite showing a pearly lustre, including also some ankerite’ (Chester Dict. Names Minerals 1896); † pearl-spice, spice in small rounded grains; pearl-tea, gunpowder-tea (Cent. Dict. 1890); pearl-tree: see quot.; pearl-tumour, (a) an encysted tumour, the surface of which is covered with white pearly scales; (b) a tumour in the brain, containing small calcified particles resembling grains of sand; (c) in cattle = pearl-disease; pearl-weed = pearlwort; pearl-white a., pearly white; orig. used of pearlware; also ellipt. as n. = pearlware, pearl-powder: see quots. Also pearl-ash, -barley, -diver, etc.
1884Miller Plant-n., *Pearl-berry. 1924E. Sitwell Sleeping Beauty xvii. 67 And the pearl⁓berries of the snow upon dark bushes freeze.
1882Garden 3 June 384/2 The *Pearl Bush, one of the finest of the Spiræa tribe.
1717Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 1 Apr., The..waistcoat..should have diamond or *pearl buttons. 1851in Illustr. Lond. News (1854) 5 Aug. 119/2 Occupations of People..pearl-button maker. 1869E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 97 The makers of pearl buttons, also suffer from chronic bronchitis.
1828Craven Gloss. (ed. 2), *Peearl⁓coated, a sheep with a curled fleece... The small globules of the wool are supposed to resemble pearls.
1895Westm. Gaz. 27 June 2/2 A pill is a pill, no matter how beautifully it is ‘*pearl-coated’.
1883Daily News 18 Sept. 8/4 Pill-making.—Wanted, a Person, who understands *Pearl-coating.
1750Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) II. 550 Your letters..have been my castor, *pearl cordial, and sal volatile.
1877tr. von Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. XVI. 770 The *pearl disease of cattle was recognized as a disease equivalent to tuberculosis.
1921Sci. Amer. 12 Mar. 213/3 ‘Essence d'Orient’ was easily manufactured, which was readily given the name of ‘*pearl essence’ by the Bureau of Fisheries. 1946Simonds & Bregman Finishing Metal Products (ed. 2) xxviii. 279 Pearl essence is used to substitute for metal powder finishes on everything from women's compacts and cosmetic containers to heavy industrial equipment and machinery. 1961Soap, Perfumery & Cosmetics XXXIV. 60/3 By crushing or pulverising, natural and synthetic pearl essences lose part of their brilliance and become dull or greyish. 1972P. G. I. Lauffer in Balsam & Sagarin Cosmetics (ed. 2) I. xii. 370 Natural pearlessence, consisting of a castor oil suspension of guanine crystals prepared from fish scales, produces a beautiful pearly luster when added to lipsticks.
1844Hoblyn Dict. Terms Med., *Pearl-eye,..old..name of cataract. 1891Daily News 13 Nov. 7/1 The points were..good profile, the cere or ring round the eye, pearl eye, compactness, and good colouring.
1755Johnson, *Pearl-eyed, having a speck in the eye. 1864Webster, Pearl-eyed..affected with the cataract.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 370 While the *Pearl-fish gaping wide doth glister, Much Fry (allurd with the bright silver lustre Of her rich Casket) flocks into the Nacre. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 72/2 Very little is known of the natural history of the pearl fish. 1905D. S. Jordan Guide to Study of Fishes II. xxix. 522 In the little group of pearl-fishes, called Fierasferidæ Carapidæ, the body is eel-shaped with a rather large head. 1972J. Binyon Physiol. of Echinoderms vi. 72 The famous pearl fish Carapus (= Fierasfer) bermudiensis..seems to live indefinitely in the cloaca and respiratory trees of this holothurian without ill-effect.
1847Johnston in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. No. 5. 226 The grub[s] or larvæ of the Hemerobiidæ or *pearl-flies.
1880Libr. Univ. Knowl. (N.Y.) IX. 486 Margarite, or Pearl Mica, called also corundellite,..*pearl⁓glimmer.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 321 To make Pearl Gooseberry Wine. Take as many of the best *pearl gooseberries when ripe as you please.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade 279/2 The troy ounce contains 600 *pearl grains, and hence one pearl grain is 4-5ths of a troy grain.
1871Specif. Dann's Patent No. 2237. 2 To obtain *pearl-hardening..for the manufacture of paper or papier mâché.
1840Penny Cycl. XVII. 340/1 Numida Meleagris..the..*Pearl Hen, Guinea Hen, [or] common Guinea Fowl..is..well known.
1710T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. 404 Its use is for the making up of *Pearl Juleps.
1820F. Mohs Charact. Nat. Hist. Syst. Min. 53 *Pearl-Mica. Rhombohedral. 1880[see pearl-glimmer].
1832Loudon's Gardener's Mag. VIII. 94 Sold in Covent Garden Market under the names of oak lungs, carrageen, or Irish *pearl moss.
1600–10Sylvester Woodmans Bear lvii, Her knuckles dight With curled Roses, and her nailes With *pearle-muscles' shining scales. 1854H. Miller Sch. & Schm. x. (1858) 201 When the river was low, I used to wade into its fords in quest of its pearl muscles.
1578Lyte Dodoens ii. civ. 290 Cromel,..some name it also *Pearle plante. 1864Prior Plant-n. (1879) 179 Pearl-plant, from its smooth hard pearly seed, the gromwell, Lithospermum officinale.
1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 483 The *pearl pottery is a superb kind for elegant and tasteful ornaments, and is so much valued, that the workmen are usually locked up, and employed only on choice articles. The components of the clay are blue and porcelain clay, Cornish-stone, a little glass, and red-lead.
1632Sherwood, *Pearl-powder, margariton. 1802M. Edgeworth Mor. T., Gd. Fr. Governess (1832) 125 Ladies..who..wear pearl powder, and false auburn hair.
1826Miss Mitford Village Ser. ii. (1863) 294 Plumed, and trained, and spangled, *pearl-powdered, or rouged. 1883Truth 31 May 757/2 The face of a lady properly pearl-powdered.
1841Penny Cycl. XX. 313/1 Of this granulated sago there are two varieties, the common or brown sago, and *pearl sago.
1859Yarrell Brit. Fishes (ed. 3) I. 331 The designation of *Pearl-side is now substituted for that of Argentine.
1821Ure Dict. Chem., *Pearl Sinter, or Fiorite, a variety of siliceous sinter. Colours white and grey. 1868Dana Min. (ed. 5) 199.
1731Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 211 The shells of the *Pearl⁓snails are frequently cast ashore by the sea.
1807Aikin Dict. Chem. II. 205 *Pearl-spar. 1843Portlock Geol. 208 Calcedony..disposed on pearl spar. 1854J. Scoffern in Orr's Circ. Sc., Chem. 19 The primitive angle of pearl-spar is 106° 5′.
1470–1Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 216 *Perle⁓spice, 6d.
1693Phil. Trans. XVII. 620 *Pearl-Tree of Surinam, which is a kind of Euonymus.
1893Syd. Soc. Lex., *Pearl tumour, a name for Cholesteatoma; also, for Psammoma; also, for Pearl disease.
1887Nicholson Dict. Gard., Sagina..*Pearl Weed; Pearlwort.
1779J. Wedgwood Let. 19 June (1965) 236, I thank her majesty for the honor she has done to the *Pearl White, and hope it will have due influence upon all her loyal subjects. 1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 148 The white oxide of bismuth, now more generally known as a cosmetic under the name of pearl-white. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Pearl-white, a colour; a powder made from nitrate of bismuth, and sometimes used by ladies as a cosmetic. 1866E. Meteyard Life J. Wedgwood II. x. 482 An Italian order furnishes the accompanying tureen and plate in pearl-white ware. 1872Symonds Introd. Study Dante 173 The pearl-white rose that opens to the rays of God's immediate glory. 1884[see creation 5 c]. 1914G. Frankau Tid'apa (1915) vi. 34 Pearl-white 'gainst the darkling lustre at the black-pearl plinth of the capes. 1937V. Woolf Years 295 The road stretched pearl-white in front of them. 1956G. Durrell My Family xvi. 218 The curve of pearl-white sand was backed by the great lily-covered dune behind.
▪ II. † pearl, n.2 Obs.
[Goes with pearl v.2 q.v.]
A clearing preparation for wine.
1682Art & Myst. Vintners & Wine-Coopers 3 If your Canary hath a flying Lee, and will not find down, draw him into a fresh Butt or Pipe with fresh Lees, and give him a good pearl with the whites of 8 Eggs, and beat them with a handful of white Salt. Ibid. 16 A Pearl for Muskadine. Ibid., Then beat your Butt an hour; then put in your Pearl. Ibid. 43 The same Pearl serves for White Wine.
▪ III. pearl, n.3 ? Obs.|pɜːl|
[perh. a transposed form of prill, pryll, a 15th c. var. of brill1; but prob. associated in colour or otherwise with pearl n.1]
A local name of the fish brill.
a1672Willughby Icthyogr. (1686) Tab. F. 1 Rhombus non aculeatus Squamosus, a Pearle Londinensibus. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Pearl, in ichthyology, a name given by us in the parts about London, to that fish which is called in..the west of England, lug-a-leaf. 1762Chron. in Ann. Reg. 148 Fish brought..867 Brill or Pearl. 1803Rees Cycl. s.v. Bret, The pearl..likewise obtains the name of bret in some parts of the country.
▪ IV. pearl, n.4|pɜːl|
[app. another form of purl, q.v.]
One of a row of fine loops forming a decorative edging on pillow-lace, braid, ribbon, gold-lace, etc. Chiefly in Comb., as pearl-edge, pearl-loop, pearl-purl, pearl-tie: see quots.
The oldest spelling seems to be purl, app. connected with purl v.1, but whilst this has become established technically in the machine-made lace trade, popular etymology seems to favour the spelling pearl, prob. because the ornamental loops somewhat resemble an edging of pearl-drops.
1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 214, I could not always control a certain wandering inclination for figured patterns and pearl edges. If Mossy had an aversion to any thing, it was to a pearl edge. 1831Porter Silk Manuf. 230 Ribands are frequently ornamented by having what is called a pearl-edge given to them. 1844G. Dodd Textile Manuf. vii. 228 A ‘pearl edge’, or something similar, is sewn on by hand round every edge. 1869F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace iii. 26 The flowers are connected by irregular threads overcast (buttonhole stitch), and sometimes worked over with pearl loops (picot). To these uniting threads, called by our lace-makers ‘pearl ties’—old Randle Holme styles them ‘coxcombs’—the Italians give the name of ‘legs’, the French that of ‘brides’. 1880Jamieson, Pearl, a kind of ornamental lace used for edging; called also pearl-lace. 1886Cassell's Encycl. Dict., Pearl-purl, a gold cord of twisted wire, resembling a small row of beads strung closely together. It is used for the edging of bullion embroidery.
▪ V. pearl, v.1|pɜːl|
[f. pearl n.1 or immed. a. F. perler, f. perle. Both in Fr. and Eng. the first part found is the pa. pple. (perlé, pearled), which may have been formed directly from the n.]
1. trans. To adorn, set, or stud with or as with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. (Only in pa. pple.)
c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 65 A purs of lether Tasseled with grene [v.r. 5 MSS. silk] and perled with latoun. 1538Elyot Dict., Clauus is a garment pirled [1545 pyrled] or powdred with spangles, lyke nayles heedes. 1564Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 308 Ane cowip..with ane cover peirlit with cristallyne within. 1593Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 144 Women (seeing them so sumptuously pearled & bespangled). 1839Bailey Festus iii. (1852) 25 The pictured moon Pearled round with stars.
2. To sprinkle with pearly drops.
1595B. Barnes Spir. Sonn. lxxx, A morning-dew perling the grasse beneath. c1595Southwell St. Peter's Compl. 21 You..trees, With purest gummes perfume and pearle your ryne. 1632Quarles Div. Fancies i. xviii, The Dew that pearls the morning grass. a1821Keats Calidore 90 The evening dew had pearl'd their tresses.
3. To furnish (a stag's horns) with pearls. Only in pa. pple.
1575Turberv. Venerie 53 When the beame is great, burnished and well pearled.
4. To make pearly in colour or lustre; to suffuse with a pearly light or hue.
18..Moir Snow xi, Chain up the billows as they roll, And pearl the caves with light. 1846Ruskin Mod. Paint. (1851) I. ii. ii. ii §14 All the other whites of his picture are pearled down with grey or gold. 1874Symonds Sk. Italy & Greece (1898) I. iv. 71 The peaked hills, blue and pearled with clouds.
5. a. To convert or reduce (barley, sago, etc.) into the shape of small round pearls.
1600, etc. [see pearled ppl. a.1 3]. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 1080 s.v. Sago, The starchy matter..is..pressed through a metal sieve to corn it (which is called pearling), and then dried. 1883C. H. Farnham in Harper's Mag. Aug. 383/2 The barley for soup is pearled in a large wooden mortar with a pestle shaped like a pickaxe.
b. To refine (potassium carbonate) in the preparation of pearl-ash.
1850Rep. Comm. Patents 1849 (U.S.) I. 176 The process of first roasting or heating the ashes..and then pearling in the pearling oven.
6. To cover (comfits) with a coating of ‘pearl’ sugar: see pearl n.1 13. Also intr. for refl.
1883R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 162/2 They will be whiter and better, if partly pearled one day and finished the next. Ibid., Put some of the prepared comfits in the pan, but not too many at a time, as it is difficult to get them to pearl alike.
7. intr. To form pearl-like drops or beads.
1595Spenser Col. Clout 507 With siluer deaw vpon the roses pearling. c1626Dick of Devon. iv. i. in Bullen O. Pl. II. 62 A cold sweat pearld in dropps all ore my body. 1727Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Brewing, It flushes violently out of the Cock,..and then stops on a sudden and pearls and smiles in a glass like any bottled beer. 1891Cornh. Mag. Apr. 379 The perspiration pearls down your face.
8. intr.
a. To seek or fish for pearls.
1639[see pearling vbl. n. 1]. 1886Pall Mall G. 25 Aug. 11/1 An Act specially dealing with the natives pearling. 1896Kipling Seven Seas, Lost Legion (1897) 97 We've pearled on half-shares in the Bay.
b. Surfing. (See quots.)
1962[see pearling vbl. n. 4]. 1967J. Severson Great Surfing Gloss., Pearl or pearling, while riding, the nose of the surfboard goes beneath the surface and continues downward, usually throwing the rider off (originally taken from pearl diving). 1970Studies in English (Univ. Cape Town) I. 31 A milder form of wipe-out occurs when the surfboard pearls, in other words, the nose of the surfboard knifes under the water surface, usually throwing the surfer off. Variations on this expression include to pearl-dive, to nose, and to plough. 1971Ibid. II. 27 If he is too far forward on the board the nose may dig in and the board pearl (shortened form of pearl-dive).
▪ VI. † pearl, v.2 Obs.
[Goes with pearl n.2; app. from pearl n.1, in reference to clearness and pellucidness.]
trans. ? To render clear and pellucid; to clarify (wine) with a clearing preparation.
1682Art & Myst. Vintners & Wine-Coopers 10 As you pearl your Muskadine, so you must your Malmosey, but use not the Whites of Eggs.
▪ VII. pearl, v.3
[cf. purl v.1]
‘To edge with lace’ (Jamieson 1880). See pearled ppl. a.2
▪ VIII. pearl
variant of purl v. and n. in knitting. |