perchn.1
/pəːtʃ/, U.S. /pərtʃ/ I. A pole or staff.
1.
a. A pole, rod, stick, or stake used for any of various purposes, esp. as a prop or support. Cf. perk n.1 1a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc.
stingc725
stakec893
sowelc900
tree971
rungOE
shaftc1000
staffc1000
stockc1000
poleOE
spritOE
luga1250
lever1297
stanga1300
perchc1300
raftc1330
sheltbeam1336
stower1371
palea1382
spar1388
spire1392
perk1396
ragged staff1397
peela1400
slot1399
plantc1400
heck-stower1401
sparkin1408
cammockc1425
sallow stakec1440
spoke1467
perk treec1480
yard1480
bode1483
spit1485
bolm1513
gada1535
ruttock1542
stob1550
blade1558
wattle1570
bamboo1598
loggat1600
barling1611
sparret1632
picket1687
tringle1706
sprund1736
lug-pole1773
polting lug1789
baton1801
stuckin1809
rack-pin1821
picket-pin1844
I-iron1874
pricker1875
stag1881
podger1888
window pole1888
verge1897
sallow pole1898
lat1899
swizzle-stick1962
c1300 St. Christopher (Laud) 78 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 273 (MED) In his hond a long perche he bar, is staf as þei it were.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 246v Of wythies is dyuerse kynde, ffor somme bereþ longe ȝerdes and hyhe and wexeþ grete, and þerof beþ perches ymade and lugges [L. perticas] for vynes.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 393 Perche or perke, pertica.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. lix. 399 The tame Hoppe..windeth it selfe about poles and perches.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. xxxv. 26 Scaffolds born up twelue foot high from the ground with forked perches or props.
1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner ii. iv. xxxvi. 62 Prop'd with Pearches, most broadwise, and some crosswise.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Willow Within two years they will be gallant Perches.
1790 Act 30 Geo. III c. 62 §26 To cause all..Bow Windows and Shutes, Spouts, Perches, Posts, Pales and Rails, to be..removed.
1902 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 839 The men knock the fruit from the trees with long poles and perches.
b. A fuller's staff; a heavy stick used to beat cloth in the fulling process. Cf. perk n.1 1b. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > fulling > mallet or staff
perchc1300
perka1425
waulk-stock1434
millstock1546
waulking-staff1678
wool-stock1858
c1300 St. James Less (Laud) 53 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 366 (MED) Mid one follares preche [a1325 Corpus Cambr. perche] þat men tesieth opon cloth, Opon þe scolle he was i-smite þat is brain out drof.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 409 He was putte to dethe on a fuller's perche [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. Þey smyte out his brayn wiþ a walkere his perche].
1914 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 22 787 During the thirteenth century an instrument came into use called ‘the stocks’, consisting of an upright, to which was hinged the ‘perch’ or wooden bar with which the cloth was beaten.
1944 Econ. Hist. Rev. 14 46 Salzman would not seem to be justified in identifying the perch (pertica) with the wooden rod with which the cloth was beaten.
c. Originally: a rod supporting the body of a cart above the axle. Later: the centre pole by which the hinder carriage is connected to the forecarriage in wagons and some other horse-drawn vehicles.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > pole joining fore and hind carriage
perch1378
1378 in C. M. Woolgar Househ. Accts. Medieval Eng. (1992) I. 246 In factura unius corporis ligni cum bolstres et perches novis xx s.
1454 in P. E. Jones Cal. Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall (1954) V. 140 (MED) [An old] perche [for a] chare [with an] extre.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 6 Feb. (1976) IX. 438 The bolt broke that holds the fore-wheels to the perch, and so the horses went away with them and left the coachman and us.
1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband ii. i. 36 Crack! went the Perch! Down goes the Coach!
1794 W. Felton Treat. Carriages I. 62 Sometimes the perch is made of a bent form, called a compass perch.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) v. 48 The horse dashed the four-wheeled chaise against a wooden bridge, separated the wheels from the body, and the bin from the perch.
1863 Q. Rev. 114 313 It is difficult for us to understand how a four-wheeled plaustrum, without a perch, was ever coaxed round a curve—how it turned nobody knows.
1935 Automobile & Carriage Builders' Jrnl. Apr. 68/2 The skeleton brake has a high driving seat with the fore and hind carriages connected by a perch only.
1987 Carriage Driving Spring 26/1 The perch (the strong bar connecting the front and rear sections of the under carriage) is of wrought iron and there are ‘C’ springs.
d. A pole or similar marker set up in the bed of a river, harbour, etc., to aid navigation.Earliest in attributive use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide > pole as navigation mark
perch1466
perch tree1553
spindle1819
perch-pole1850
1466 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 323 (MED) Hit is ordeynet..that al..pay perche mony to the water baliffes of the havvyn.
1620–1 in F. Roberts & I. M. M. Macphail Dumbarton Common Good Accts. (1972) 26 For bringing hame the perche fra Finlastoun which was caryit away be the force of the wattir.
1683 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 308 Wee order that the Perch bee..sett upp at the blacke rocke.
1702 London Gaz. No. 3781/4 A Perch..with a white Brush upon it.
1858 Mercantile Marine Mag. 5 175 There is a Bright Tide Light, and two perches on the western side.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. v. 111 Perches with balls, cages, &c., will..be at turning points.
1909 P. C. Carragher Saltcoats 78 Two quaint rocks or ‘perches’ sentinel the outer harbour.
1975 J. B. Harley Ordnance Survey Maps iii. 44 Navigation aids such as perches, pilot beacons, and navigation lights are shown by dots in tidal rivers.
II. A measure of length, etc.
2. Originally: a rod of a definite length used for measuring land, etc. Later: a measure of length used esp. for land, fences, walls, etc., varying locally but later standardized at 51/ 2 yards, 161/ 2 ft (approx. 5.03 m). Also called lug, rod, pole. Now chiefly historical.See note on U.K. usage at rod n.1 8a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > rod, pole, or perch
yard900
roodOE
perchc1300
rodc1380
fall1388
goad1391
polea1500
lug1562
farthing1602
land-pole1603
gad1706
virgate1772
perk1825
esperduct1866
gad-stick1866
c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Harl.) 159 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 576 (MED) A perche he nom & met aboute as ech hous scholde beo.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 332 Þe pase conteyneþ fyue feet, and þe perche elleuene passe and ten feete [L. passus pedes v, partica passus xxi, pedes x].
?a1450 in Archaeologia (1902) 58 300 (MED) It renyþ in a goter of ston fro þe souþ in to þe norþ ij perch & x fete, & fro þens it retornyþ and goþ West ij perch.
1491 Act 7 Hen. VII c. 14 Bounde to repaire cccclxvij perches, every perche of xviij fote, of the pale of the parke.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. viiv An acre of ground by the statut yt is to say, xvi. fote and a halfe to the perch or poll .iiii. perches to an acre in brede, & .xl. perches to an acre in length.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Pertica, a staffe, a cogell, a perche or polle, wherwith grounde is mette.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ 274 (Gloss.) A Perch, or Lug is sixteen foot and a half Land-measure, but is usually eighteen foot to measure Coppice Woods withal.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Anat. Ireland (1691) 52 The Perch of Ireland is 21 Foot.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Decempeda, a Pearch, or Pole ten Foot long, us'd for the Measuring of Land, &c.
1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 lxxiii. 315 Besides these statute measures, there are in England what may be called customary perches, differing one from the other in length in various counties.
1804 J. Duncomb Coll. Hist. County Hereford App., in Reprinted Gloss. (1874) xii. 64/2 Perch of fencing; seven yards. Perch of land; five yards and a half (same as statute). Perch of walling; sixteen feet and a half.
1839 C. J. Lever Confessions Harry Lorrequer vi. 53 I immediately obeyed the injunction, and commenced a vigorous assault upon the trout, caught, as he informed me, ‘within twenty perches of the house’.
1887 F. T. Havergal Herefordshire Gloss. 40 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 472/2 The true perch of land is 5½ yards, yet local hedgers reckon 7 yards, even at ploughing matches.
1939 ‘F. O'Brien’ At Swim-Two-Birds 163 The two of them had not journeyed the length of two perches statute when they saw the two men.
1989 D. H. Fischer Albion's Seed 658 It was taken from an old unit of measure variously called a rod, lug, pole, or perch, normally five and a half yards long.
3. A measure of area (of land, brickwork, etc.) equal to a square perch, varying according to the local linear perch but later standardized at 1/ 160 of an acre, or 301/ 4 square yards (approx. 25.3 square metres).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a system or process of measuring land > square rod, pole, or perch
falla1242
percha1398
rood?c1450
rod?a1560
pole1637
pole square1707
lug1727
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 332 Oure grete..deled þe prouynce..in regiouns, in place, in teritories..and þilke in climes, and þilke actus and perches.
1442 Rolls of Parl. V. 59/1 A quarter and an half of a perche, and a pek of Londe.
a1500 Walter of Henley's Husbandry (Sloane) (1890) 41 (MED) The secunde chapitur tellithe..howe many perchis of londe makithe an acre.
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) ii. xii. sig. N iij There is in that parke 1188 acres, and 24 perches.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 200 Not to lose a Pearch of my many Acres, through imperfect Survey.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Lucern A perch of transplanted lucern.
1793 W. Marshall Minutes in Rural Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 337 The purchaser to be allowed..a quarter of a perch, for each standle of the last cutting.
1836 W. S. Landor Pericles & Aspasia I. 72 Pindar! you have brought a sack of corn to sow a perch of land.
1863 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. (new ed.) in J. Britten Old Country & Farming Words (1880) 174 Perch,..(Guernsey) 7 yards squared for land measure, making 13/ 5 perches. (Jersey) 71/ 3 yards = 22 feet [squared], 1/ 90 of an acre.
1930 V. Palmer Passage (1957) 26 Fancy a quiet little place like this being turned into a nightmare of land-agent's notices and forty-perch allotments.
1973 Irish Times 2 Mar. 23/3 (advt.) The total area for sale is 37 Acres O Roods 9 Perches (approx) Statute Measure.
1994 R. Gunesekera Reef (1998) 52 A new bungalow was being built on the fifteen perches of wasteland next to number ten.
4. A solid measure used for stone, containing a linear perch in length, and typically 11/ 2 feet in height and 1 foot in thickness (i.e. a volume of 243/ 4 cubic feet, approx. 0.701 cubic metres), but formerly varying locally, and used for different materials.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > measure of stone
cord1703
perch1772
1772 W. Corbit Acct. in J. A. H. Sweeney Grandeur on Appoquinimink (1989) 81 To Laying 109 Perch of Stone [in] Seller At 3/9 pr perch.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 90 An Irish rod or perch of stone-walling..is twenty-one feet in length, eighteen inches in breadth, and twelve inches in depth.
1849 D. G. Mitchell Battle Summer (1852) 57 Will these blouse-men, who sup in Tuilleries today, hammer stone tomorrow at ten sous a perch?
1863 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. (new ed.) in J. Britten Old Country & Farming Words (1880) 174 Perch,..(Dev[on]) of stone work, 16½ feet in length, 1 in height, and 22 inches in thickness; of cob work, 18 feet in length, 1 in height, and 2 in thickness.
1881 Dict. Archit. (Archit. Publ. Soc.) (at cited word) A standard perch being taken as 21 ft. (or 16½ ft.) long, 18 ins. high, and 12 ins. thick. This is about ‘a yard of stone’, or a ton, or a horse-load.
1905 Science 3 Feb. 166/1 We measure wood by the cord, stone by the perch, earth by the cubic yard.
1962 Accounting Rev. 37 74/2 A perch is a measure of stone work comprising about 25 cubic yards.
1995 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) (Nexis) 1 Nov. 15 24 ¾ Cubic Feet = 1 Solid Perch Mason's Work.
III. A bar or support.† 5.
a. A horizontal bar on which to hang things, esp. clothes; a peg. Cf. perk n.1 2, rannel-perch n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [noun] > that by which something is suspended > peg or nail
naileOE
percha1325
knagc1440
spirget1567
crotch1573
peg1598
spirket1647
a1325 St. Bridget (Corpus Cambr.) 171 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 43 (MED) He ne dorste carie noȝt perche forto finde Wanne heo [altered to he] wolde hure cloþes honge.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 225 A mantyl heng hir faste by, Upon a perche..A burnet cote heng therwithall.
a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe ii. §23. 44 Thou must have a plomet hangyng on a lyne, heygher than thin heved, on a perche.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 24 She..hongyd it vp on a perche in hire chambir.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Petiolus, a lytle foote: also a perche whereon frutes or onyons be hanged.
1715 L. Theobald tr. Aristophanes Plutus iv. i. 45 (note) When they hung up the Spoils of an Enemy in their Temple, they did it on a Perch fasten'd to the Walls.
1838 J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 2) 95 Perch, Perk, Pearch, an old term for a bracket.
1871 C. Kingsley At Last II. xi. 126 A ‘perch’ for hanging clothes..just such as would have been seen in a mediæval house in England.
b. A bar to support a candle or candles, esp. as an altar light. See also perch candle n. at Compounds. Cf. perk n.1 3. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > support or holder for a candle > [noun] > bar or beam for holding candles
candle-beamc1440
perch1565
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > support or holder for a candle > [noun] > candlestick > with wall bracket
sconce?c1450
sconce candlestick1455
perk1475
perch1565
girandole1769
wall shade1826
swape1867
1565 J. Calfhill Aunswere Treat. Crosse f. 140v My Lord Maior hath a perch to set on hys perchers when hys gesse be at supper.
6. † d. figurative. Death. Cf. to hop the perch at Phrases 2, perch v.1 6. Obsolete. rare.
a. A horizontal bar provided as a resting place for a hawk, domestic fowl, or tame bird.In quot. a1657 used figuratively in describing a young, inexperienced person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > perch
perka1525
stock1575
perch1736
c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2204 What haukes sitten on the perche [v.r. perches] aboue.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 159 (MED) Aboue the chambre of this chariot..ben sett vpon a perche iiij or v or vj Gerfacouns.
a1475 in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 5 (MED) The perche schalbe of carbuncul stone, To rest ȝow one, my joly lemone.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xlvi. 159 Fawcons pelegrynes, that haue stande and rested longe on the perche hath grete desyre to flye abrode.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 115 So neare that they maye sit close togyther on the pearche.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 504 The pearches whereon they set their Canarie birds, which else would be killed by Pismires.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV clx, in Poems (1878) IV. 41 As yet some cannot flutter 'boue the Perch.
1736 N. Bailey Dict. Domesticum 331 Near unto the evings of the [hen] house should be long perches.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 340 Standing upright upon the perch like a sparrow-hawk.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed vii, in Tales Crusaders II. 140 I would rather have a goss-hawk on my perch, than the fairest falcon that ever stretched wing to weather.
1897 J. Conrad Nigger of ‘Narcissus’ i. 7 The two Norwegians sat on a chest side by side, alike and placid, resembling a pair of love-birds on a perch.
1938 Amer. Home Jan. 62/4 Sometimes amusement is caused by the way the bird settles down on its perch, ruffles up its feathers and appears to doze.
1994 J. Parry-Jones Training Birds of Prey v. 84/2 There is no reason why you shouldn't put the bird down on her perch after a training session.
b. Anything on which a bird alights, rests, or roosts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [noun] > perching > perching or resting place
roosta1398
perk1400
percha1470
roosting1577
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 282 A faucon..flowe unto the elme to take hir perche.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. GGGiiii She flyeth vp to a perche or braunche of a tree, and after her maner she syngeth full swetely.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 11 Some Boobyes, weary of flight, made our Ship their pearch.
a1782 W. Cowper Jackdaw in Poems (1790) I. 273 A great frequenter of the church, Where bishop-like he finds a perch, And dormitory too.
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans I. ix. 119 A fish-hawk..now swooped from his high and ragged perch, and soared, in wide sweeps, above his prey.
1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders I. vii. 128 Every wood-pigeon rose from its perch with a continued clash.
1930 Nature Mag. Mar. 146/1 The farmer..losing a fowl that the great horned owl has picked from its unprotected perch in the orchard tree.
1963 A. Moorehead Cooper's Creek xiii. 151 He flew directly into a tree in the camp, and from that perch he could be induced neither to take off nor come down again.
1995 Earth Oct. 82/1 A large quiver tree..offered a convenient perch for a lilac-breasted roller.
c. figurative. An elevated or secure place or position.Originally with allusion to a bird's perch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > a high position > for occupying
perch1526
perching1818
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Aiiii Euen so, man..may..flye vp neuer so hye..from perche to perch, from pleasure to pleasure: from honour to honour.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 4 We must not make a scar-crow of the Law,..let it keepe one shape, till custome make it Their pearch, and not their terror. View more context for this quotation
1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 87 Never did the Prerogative descend so much from perch to popular lure, as by that concession [of the Petition of Right].
1818 J. Keats Endymion iii. 106 They proudly mount To their spirit's perch.
1884 D. Pae Eustace 63 It gives me a lift to the perch that I'd long had an eye for.
1950 E. G. Patterson Homecoming in Charm Sept. 174/3 From your safe, protected little perch how could you possibly know anything about it?
2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 17 Dec. 33/3 All are insiders who ascended to multimillion-dollar perches with unflappability and a marked lack of flamboyance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun]
hensithOE
qualmOE
bale-sithea1000
endingc1000
fallOE
forthsitheOE
soulingOE
life's endOE
deathOE
hethensithc1200
last end?c1225
forthfarec1275
dying1297
finec1300
partingc1300
endc1305
deceasec1330
departc1330
starving1340
passingc1350
latter enda1382
obita1382
perishingc1384
carrion1387
departing1388
finishmentc1400
trespassement14..
passing forthc1410
sesse1417
cess1419
fininga1425
resolutiona1425
departisona1450
passagea1450
departmentc1450
consummation?a1475
dormition1483
debt to (also of) naturea1513
dissolutionc1522
expirationa1530
funeral?a1534
change1543
departure1558
last change1574
transmigration1576
dissolving1577
shaking of the sheets?1577
departance1579
deceasure1580
mortality1582
deceasing1591
waftage1592
launching1599
quietus1603
doom1609
expire1612
expiring1612
period1613
defunctiona1616
Lethea1616
fail1623
dismissiona1631
set1635
passa1645
disanimation1646
suffering1651
abition1656
Passovera1662
latter (last) end1670
finis1682
exitus1706
perch1722
demission1735
demise1753
translation1760
transit1764
dropping1768
expiry1790
departal1823
finish1826
homegoing1866
the last (also final, great) round-up1879
snuffing1922
fade-out1924
thirty1929
appointment in Samarra1934
dirt nap1981
big chill1987
1722 W. Bromley Let. to J. Grahme 22 Apr. in J. Bagot Col. J. Grahme (1886) 32 (modernized text) My letters yesterday put me into a quandary, upon hearing of your friend's perch (i.e., the death of the Earl of Sunderland).
1722 W. Bromley Let. to J. Grahme 6 May in J. Bagot Col. J. Grahme (1886) 32 (modernized text) I do not believe that any of my friends rejoice at the late ‘perch’, though I am told that others have shown very indecent joy.
e. colloquial. A small high seat on a horse-drawn carriage, used by the driver or a servant. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > parts of > seat > seat for driver or servant
perch1798
dickey seat1802
1798 J. O'Keefe Tantara-rara i. ii. 362 Thinking to skip up again on my perch—Whisk! I saw the coach out of sight.
1841 C. J. Lever Charles O'Malley cviii The postilion was obliged to drive from what (Hibernicè speaking) is called the perch, no ill-applied denomination to a piece of wood which about the thickness of one's arm, is hung between the two fore~springs and serves as a resting-place.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Perch..(Vehicle)..An elevated seat for the driver.
1992 L. Kinsale Flowers from Storm 4 When he reached his brougham, his coachman got down quickly from the perch.
f. A place, esp. an elevated or precarious one, where a person or thing alights or rests. to take one's (also a) perch: to alight; to sit down.peck and perch: see peck n.3 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > be positioned or situated [verb (intransitive)] > take up position
to take (a tree) to stallc1275
pitch1535
range1582
suit1591
to take (up) (one's) station?1596
to fall in1627
to take ground1700
fix1710
to take one's (also a) perch1871
post1872
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) iv. 39 Mr. Winkle mounted to the box, the fat boy waddled to the same perch, and fell fast asleep instantly.
1871 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Odyssey I. v. 136 The sea-nymph took her perch On the well-banded raft.
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes x. 121 From a lofty perch Tarzan viewed the village of thatched huts across the intervening plantation.
1947 H. E. Bates Purple Plain xi. 118 ‘Take a perch.’ Forrester sat down.
1990 Daily Tel. 28 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 4/2 From its perch on a Loch Long promontory, this 18th-century droving inn enjoys spectacular water views.
7.
a. A wooden bar, or frame of two parallel bars, over which pieces of cloth are pulled for examination or in order to dress the surface. Cf. perch v.1 7a. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > examining cloth for faults > equipment for
percha1533
perk1583
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > putting nap on > other equipment
card1463
percha1533
pickard1549
frieze-board1688
rub-board1737
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. Cc.ijv Ye haue strayned it on the tentours, and drawen it on the perche.
1569 in F. G. Emmison Essex Wills (1983) (modernized text) II. 240 A lard box, a cutting board, a perche, a rack head.
1666 W. Spurstowe Spiritual Chymist 164 The circumspect Merchant contents not himself with the seeing and feeling of his Cloth..but he puts it upon the Perch, and setting it between the light and himself, draws it leasurely over.
1883 T. Lees Easther's Gloss. Dial. Almondbury & Huddersfield (at cited word) Pieces of cloth are placed over a pole or perch.
1944 Econ. Hist. Rev. 14 46 Those who work on dry land at the perch, i.e. the wooden bar or frame, over which the cloth was hung during the raising.
b. Tanning. A horizontal bar on which leather is hung for softening. Cf. perching n.2 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for working with skins or leather > [noun] > equipment for softening hides or leather
pommel1839
stamper1852
hide-mill1853
stamp1875
perch1885
staking jaws1897
staking-machine1897
1885 A. Watt Art Leather Manuf. xxvii. 338 The leather is laid across the perch, which is a horizontal bar of wood with a slot or groove in its upper surface, and supported by two uprights.
1898 Hide & Leather 24 Sept. 21/3 After drying they [sc. skins] are softened, dry, over a perch with a moon~knife.
1909 H. G. Bennett Manuf. Leather 359 In perching the mechanical treatment is less violent, the goods being fixed on a ‘perch’—a horizontal pole about 5 feet above the ground—and scraped by means of the ‘moon-knife’.
1963 J. H. Sharphouse Leatherworker's Handbk. xxvi. 157 The skin..being clamped in a wooden frame (perch)..and flexed by a scraping action on the flesh side with a moon knife (or arm perch).
8. Theatre. A platform from which lights are directed on to the front of the stage; (in plural) the lights placed on this platform.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > stage lights
footlight1776
limelight1826
float1829
spotlight1875
ground-row1881
lime1892
baby spot1910
amber1913
spot1920
strip light1920
perch1933
follow spot1937
Mickey Mouse1937
pin spot1947
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > stage lights > support for
batten1881
lighting tower1881
chariot1902
lighting bridge1915
perch1933
1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage i. 18 The stops controlling the amber circuits in No. 1 batten, floats, and P. and O.P. perches slide up to full.
1934 A. P. Herbert Holy Deadlock 215 From time to time he gave a quiet order to an invisible person called Joe about Batten Number One, about a border or a perch, a flat or the floats.
1967 Punch 16 Aug. 242/3 John Christie had to bring in a lighting bridge and sixty floods and perches from Glyndebourne.
2000 Evening News (Edinburgh) (Nexis) 17 Nov. 23 He let me watch shows from the lighting perch until eventually I was allowed to work the lighting board.
Phrases
(Derived from sense 6.) P1. to come (also get) off one's perch (colloquial): to adopt a less arrogant or condescending manner. to knock (also take, etc.) (a person) off his or her perch (colloquial): to disconcert or humiliate (a person); to remove from a position of superiority. †to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch: to vanquish, ruin; to be the death or destruction of; cf. perk n.1 2b (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (intransitive)]
to shed blood?a1100
to let blood?c1225
to be (a person's) priesta1450
shortena1535
kill1535
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to trip (also turn, tumble, kick, etc.) up a person's heels1587
to make dice of (a person's) bones1591
to put out (also quench) a person's light(s)1599
account1848
to fix1875
the mind > emotion > humility > be humble [verb (intransitive)] > become humble
to come downa1382
meeka1400
meekena1500
let fall one's crest1531
to come (also get) off one's perch1568
to come down a peg1589
lower1837
to come off the roof1883
to climb down1887
deflate1912
to come, etc., off one's high horse1920
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to
undoc950
shendOE
forfarea1000
endc1000
to do awayOE
aquenchc1175
slayc1175
slayc1175
stathea1200
tinea1300
to-spilla1300
batec1300
bleschea1325
honisha1325
leesea1325
wastec1325
stanch1338
corrumpa1340
destroy1340
to put awayc1350
dissolvec1374
supplanta1382
to-shend1382
aneantizec1384
avoidc1384
to put outa1398
beshenda1400
swelta1400
amortizec1405
distract1413
consumec1425
shelfc1425
abroge1427
downthringc1430
kill1435
poisonc1450
defeat1474
perish1509
to blow away1523
abrogatea1529
to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529
dash?1529
to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531
put in the pot1531
wipea1538
extermine1539
fatec1540
peppera1550
disappoint1563
to put (also set) beside the saddle1563
to cut the throat of1565
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to make a hand of (also on, with)1569
demolish1570
to break the neck of1576
to make shipwreck of1577
spoil1578
to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579
cipher1589
ruinate1590
to cut off by the shins1592
shipwreck1599
exterminate1605
finish1611
damnify1612
ravel1614
braina1616
stagger1629
unrivet1630
consummate1634
pulverizea1640
baffle1649
devil1652
to blow up1660
feague1668
shatter1683
cook1708
to die away1748
to prove fatal (to)1759
to knock up1764
to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834
to put the kibosh on1834
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
kibosh1841
to chaw up1843
cooper1851
to jack up1870
scuttle1888
to bugger up1891
jigger1895
torpedo1895
on the fritz1900
to put paid to1901
rot1908
down and out1916
scuppera1918
to put the skids under1918
stonker1919
liquidate1924
to screw up1933
cruel1934
to dig the grave of1934
pox1935
blow1936
to hit for six1937
to piss up1937
to dust off1938
zap1976
the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > humiliate [verb (transitive)]
anitherOE
fellOE
lowc1175
to lay lowc1225
to set adownc1275
snuba1340
meekc1350
depose1377
aneantizea1382
to bring lowa1387
declinea1400
meekenc1400
to pull downc1425
avalec1430
to-gradea1440
to put downc1440
humble1484
alow1494
deject?1521
depress1526
plucka1529
to cut (rarely to cast down) the comb of?1533
to bring down1535
to bring basec1540
adbass1548
diminish1560
afflict1561
to take down1562
to throw down1567
debase1569
embase1571
diminute1575
to put (also thrust) a person's nose out of jointc1576
exinanite1577
to take (a person) a peg lower1589
to take (a person) down a peg (or two)1589
disbasea1592
to take (a person) down a buttonhole (or two)1592
comb-cut1593
unpuff1598
atterr1605
dismount1608
annihilate1610
crest-fall1611
demit1611
pulla1616
avilea1617
to put a scorn on, upon1633
mortify1639
dimit1658
to put a person's pipe out1720
to let down1747
to set down1753
humiliate1757
to draw (a person's) eyeteeth1789
start1821
squabash1822
to wipe a person's eye1823
to crop the feathers of1827
embarrass1839
to knock (also take, etc.) (a person) off his or her perch1864
to sit upon ——1864
squelch1864
to cut out of all feather1865
to sit on ——1868
to turn down1870
to score off1882
to do (a person) in the eye1891
puncture1908
to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908
to cut down to size1927
flatten1932
to slap (a person) down1938
punk1963
1568 U. Fulwell Like wil to Like E iij Charged to make privy serche, So that if we may be got, we shalbe throwen ouer the perche.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. Dv It was inough if a fat man did but trusse his points, to turne him ouer the pearch [in the sweating sicknes].
a1704 T. Brown Lett. from Dead (new ed.) in Wks. (1707) II. ii. 146 For fear when I am once got into the Grave, the grim Tyrant should give me a turn over the Perch, and keep me there.
1767 J. O'Keefe She Gallant ii. 21 The jade has spit upon my nose; I wish I had a charg'd pistol, I'd blow her off her perch.
1864 Athenæum 22 Oct. 523/3 Lord John Russell..took the Dean off his perch.
1896 Dial. Notes 1 421 ‘Come off your perch,’ stop being fresh.
1931 M. Allingham Look to Lady xv. 156 For Gawd's sake come off yer perch and listen to this seriously.
1992 Economist 11 July 17/1 Will losing the ECB to Bonn knock London off its perch as Europe's leading financial centre?
P2. to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch and variants (slang): to die.to peak over the perch: see peak v.1 4. to pick over the perch: see pick v.2 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (intransitive)] > be destroyed, ruined, or come to an end
losec888
fallOE
forlesea1225
perishc1275
spilla1300
to go to wreche13..
to go to the gatec1330
to go to lostc1374
miscarryc1387
quenchc1390
to bring unto, to fall into, to go, put, or work to wrakea1400
mischieve?a1400
tinea1400
to go to the devilc1405
bursta1450
untwindc1460
to make shipwreck1526
to go to (the) pot1531
to go to wreck (and ruin)a1547
wrake1570
wracka1586
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
to lie in the dusta1591
mischief1598
to go (etc.) to rack (and ruin)1599
shipwreck1607
suffera1616
unravel1643
to fall off1684
tip (over) the perch1699
to do away with1769
to go to the dickens1833
collapse1838
to come (also go) a mucker1851
mucker1862
to go up1864
to go to squash1889
to go (to) stramash1910
to go for a burton1941
to meet one's Makera1978
1587 R. Hakluyt tr. R. de Laudonnière Notable Hist. Foure Voy. Florida f. 32v Some drug that should make men pitch ouer the perche.
1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue IV. xxii. 321 I have a sure expedient to make him tip off the perch in a short time.
1737 J. Ozell tr. F. Rabelais Wks. III. Prol. p. xv Either through Negligence, or for want of ordinary Sustenance, they both tipt over the Perch.
1791 C. Smith Celestina I. 132 The old girl must hop the perch soon.
1808 J. Bentham Mem. & Corr. in Wks. (1843) X. 444 What if you should happen to tip the perch before all the children are grown up?
1821 W. Scott Pirate III. xiii. 307 Such a consummate ideot as to hop the perch so sillily.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan in Poet. Wks. (1902) 412 I lay all day, And got through half of Mudie when my daddy Dropt from his perch.
1995 Daily Mail 2 Jan. 10/3 So many of my old contemporaries have been dropping off the perch recently.
Compounds
(Chiefly relating to sense 1c.) perch-bolt n. now historical the bolt or pin on which the perch of a carriage turns.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > pole joining fore and hind carriage > bolt upon which it turns
perch-bolt1789
1789 J. Kemp in T. Jefferson Papers (1958) XIV. 471 To a new..Crane Neck Carriage... A new spare screw'd perch bolt & key.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 174/2 The perch-bolt, or centre-point on which the wheels lock round.
1992 S. Holloway Courage High! xiv. 118/1 This was attached by a perch-bolt to the back end of a normally horse-drawn steamer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > tall or large
perchera1331
perch candle1499
1499 Promptorium Parvulorum (Pynson) sig. miii/2 Perche candell, Perticalis.
1532–3 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 265 Halfe dowsen of perche Candelles vij d. ob.
perch carriage n. now historical the framework of a horse-drawn vehicle, fitted with a perch; cf. carriage n. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > frame of cart or carriage > type of
perch carriage1788
1788 J. Trumbull Let. 15 Aug. in T. Jefferson Papers (1956) XIII. 519 Perch carriages..abound, but the crane neck is not so much us'd.
1800 Hull Advertiser 11 Oct. 2/4 A neat post chaise, with perch carriage.
1998 Carriage Driving Oct. 25/1 A perch carriage with C springs and undersprings.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > covered > coach > other types of coach
hanging-waggon1585
glass-coach1667
carriage of respecta1680
shalloon1688
leading coach1704
curtain-coach1706
day coach1784
muddy1800
perch-coach1815
drag1820
1815 tr. V. J. E. de Jouy Paris Chit-chat I. 101 [He] paces along gravely with two enormous black horses, and in a perch coach.
ΚΠ
1794 W. Felton Treat. Carriages I. 119 A perch hoop, which unites the wings to the perch, by being tightly drove on them.
perch iron n. iron parts forming the perch of a carriage.
ΚΠ
1874 Subject-matter Index Patents 1790–1873 (U.S. Patent Office) II. 1031 Perch-irons, Die for making. J. W. Sheppard. Plantsville, Conn. Feb. 20, 1872.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 667/2 Perch iron is a term inclusive of the iron parts generally.
perch loop n. an iron attachment on a perch, to which straps are fastened which reduce the movement of the carriage framework.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 667/2 Perch loop, an iron attached to a perch, having loops for the straps which pass to the bed to limit the swinging of the latter.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > shipping dues > [noun]
lastinglOE
lastage1205
anchorage1405
strandage1419
plankage1424
quayage1440
lowage1457
measurage1460
perch money1466
perching1483
keel-toll?1499
wharf-gelt1505
sand-gelt1527
wharfage1535
soundage1562
towage1562
groundage1567
bankage1587
rowage1589
shore-silver1589
pilotage1591
dayage1592
ballastage1594
rivage1598
pieragec1599
shore-mail1603
lightage1606
shorage1611
port charge1638
light money1663
port due1663
water-bailage1669
mensuragea1676
mooragea1676
keelage1679
shore-due1692
harbour-due1718
lockage1722
magazinage1736
jettage?1737
light duty1752
tide-duty1769
port duty1776
dockage1788
light due1793
canalage1812
posting-dues1838
warpage1863
winch1864
postage1868
flag-dues1892
berthage1893
shore-levy-
1466 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 323 (MED) Hit is ordeynet..that al..pay perche mony to the water baliffes of the havvyn.
perch-plate n. an iron plate placed above, below, or to the side of a carriage perch for the purpose of reinforcement.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > pole joining fore and hind carriage > plate attached to
perch-plate1692
1692 in A. W. C. Hallen Acct. Bk. Sir J. Foulis (1894) 147 For..a perch plait, a mainshekell, [etc.].
1794 W. Felton Treat. Carriages I. 70 The side perch plates.
?1876 Draft-bk Centennial Carriages 94/1 The body is hung on two elliptic springs, and well stayed and braced. The perch-plate is clipped on.
perch-pole n. (a) (now historical) = sense 1d; (b) a climbing pole used by acrobats.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide > pole as navigation mark
perch1466
perch tree1553
spindle1819
perch-pole1850
1850 C. W. Eliot Let. 31 July in H. James Charles W. Eliot (1930) ii. 40 The post broke the pole [between the horses], got by the circle somehow or other and struck the perch-pole under the body of the carriage.
1895 A. B. Balfour 1200 Miles in Waggon 138 Extra delay was caused by the ‘long-waggon’ (perch pole) of the buck-waggon getting badly cracked.
1905 N.E.D. at Perch sb.2 Perch-pole, a climbing-pole used by acrobats.
1994 Daily Tel. 2 Dec. 29/3 The Whiteley circus family, celebrated for their..wire-walking and perch-pole acrobatics.
perch stay n. one of the side rods which pass from the perch of a carriage to the rear axle as braces.
ΚΠ
1858 Sci. Amer. 22 May 296/1 The amount of work lavished upon an ordinary ‘running part’ in its perch stays, bedwood on the hind axle, spring bars, and body loops, is not less than from $20 to $30.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 667/2 Perch stays, side rods acting as braces, passing from the perch to the hind axle.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide > pole as navigation mark
perch1466
perch tree1553
spindle1819
perch-pole1850
1553–4 in G. S. Pryde Ayr Burgh Accts. (1937) 121 [Making a] peirche tre [in the harbour, £1, 2s. 8d.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
perchn.2
/pəːtʃ/, U.S. /pərtʃ/ 1.
a. An edible, spiny-finned freshwater fish, Perca fluviatilis (family Percidae), native to Europe, which has two distinctive dorsal fins, reddish lower fins, and dark vertical bars on the body. Later also: any fish of the genus Perca or the family Percidae; esp. the very similar P. flavescens of North America (also called yellow perch). Also: the flesh of any such fish as food.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > unspecified and miscellaneous types
perch1381
coracine1625
black-tail1735
grey bass1747
salmon1798
whiting perch1803
brasse1847
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > perca fluviatilis (common perch)
bassc1000
perch1381
basec1425
river perch1574
bast1676
Welshman1709
barse1753
grunt1851
redfin1946
1381 Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 75 For to make blomanger of fysch..nym þe perche or þe lopuster & boyle yt, & kest sugur & salt also þereto.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 5437 Fleiȝeyng foules blake..of perches and of savmouns Token.
c1450 Treat. Fishing in J. McDonald et al. Origins of Angling (1963) 155 (MED) Ye schall angle..ffor the perche, the flounder, þe breme with a lyne of iiij herys..ffor þe gret Trowt, þe grelyng, & þe perche with a lyne of xij herys.
a1500 Piers of Fulham (James) in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1866) II. 5 (MED) Men on deyntes so hem delyte, To fede hem vpon the fysches lyte, As flowndres, perches.
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) V. 58 Good Pikes, and Perches in greate Numbre.
1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. vii. 91 There are in the rivers, and ponds, very excellent..Perches..and other fishes.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ix. 179 The Pearch..is one of the fishes of prey, that, like the Pike and Trout, carries his teeth in his mouth. View more context for this quotation
1713 A. Pope Windsor-Forest 7 The bright-ey'd Perch with Fins of Tyrian Dye.
1740 Gentleman's Mag. May 254/1 The tench, and here the speary perch delight.
1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 104 Next we had salmon and perch, in jelly, and cold.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 296 Within the mill-head there the perch feed fat.
1923 National Geographic Mag. Apr. 442/1 Black bass, perch, crappie, and sturgeon are taken from the rivers and streams in quantities.
1936 Pop. Mech. July 144 a/1 The fish really belongs to the perch family although widely known as a walleye.
1967 M. Glenny tr. M. Bulgakov Master & Margarita v. 70 A helping of perch at the Coliseum costs thirty rubles fifty kopecks.
1994 Daily Tel. 29 July 4/4 The pollution, which was discharged from Anglian Water's sewerage system, killed coarse fish, mainly roach, plus ruffe, perch and small pike.
b. Chiefly North American, Australian, and New Zealand. Any of numerous marine and freshwater fishes of other, mostly perciform, families, esp. Percichthyidae, Embiotocidae, Centrarchidae, and Serranidae. Usually with distinguishing word (see sense 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Percoidei > [noun] > member of family Embiotocidae (surf-perch)
surf fish1868
perch1882
surfperch1885
1804 W. Clark Jrnl. 15 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1986) II. 483 We mad a Drag and..Cought..a kind of perch Called Silverfish, on the Ohio.
1842 Tasmanian Jrnl. 1 63 Cheilodactylus carponemus..known locally as the Perch.
1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales 31 Lates colonorum, the perch of the colonists..really a fresh~water fish, but..often brought to the Sydney market from Broken Bay and other salt-water estuaries.
1911 Rep. Comm. U.S. Bureau Fisheries 1908 307/1 Alfione (Rhacochilus toxotes)... It is also called ‘perch’ and ‘sprat’.
1978 D. Vawr Ratbag Mind 21 The ‘perch’ (bass)..would never take anything except, rarely a live prawn in the darker creeks.
1984 A. C. Duxbury & A. Duxbury Introd. World's Oceans xiv. 451 Perch and snapper tend to congregate along the seafloor in the shallower, nearshore areas.
2003 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 8 May 11 They hustled to capture a few 2–4-inch sunfish from the rocky shallows, and baited the trotlines with the live perch.
2. With distinguishing word: = sense 1.climbing, Macquarie, Nile, ocean, pike-, pirate, sea-, surf-perch, etc.: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxii. xi. 452 The sea Perches.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Perche de mer, the sea Pearch; a wholesome, rough-find, and tonguelesse, rocke-fish.
1704 Nat. Hist. iii, in L. Wafer New Voy. & Descr. Isthmus Amer. (ed. 2) 202 The Red-listed Pearch. Is good to eat.
1775 A. Burnaby Trav. Middle Settlements N.-Amer. 15 These waters are stored with incredible quantities of fish, such as sheeps-heads, rock-fish, drums, white perch.
1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 423/1 Centropristes nigricans, one of the species known by the name of the black-perch or black-bass, is abundant in the rivers of the United States.
1883 E. P. Ramsay Food Fishes New S. Wales 35 The most important of our freshwater fishes are..the two species of the Murray Cod (Oligorus), the Golden Perch (Ctenolates), 2 species, the Silver Perch and MacLeay's Perch (Therapon), the River Perch (Lates), 2 species.
1921 N.Z. Jrnl. Sci. & Technol. 4 121 Helicolenus percoides... Sea-perch; Pohuiakaroa. Secured in rocky localities among blue cod.
1938 Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Jan. 20/1 The Macquarie perch is making a welcome reappearance in Gippsland streams.
1966 P. V. Price France: Food & Wine Guide 44 The loup de mer, so often found grilled over fennel sticks all over the south, is a sort of sea-perch or sea-bass.
1990 T. C. Boyle East is East i. 115 He came up with a writhing grab bag of fascinating things—pirate perch, golden top minnow, needle-nosed gar, [etc.].
Compounds
C1.
perch-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1883 E. P. Ramsay Food Fishes New S. Wales 9 A more important fish..is a fine perch-shaped Glaucosoma,..named G. scapulare.
1999 Newcastle (Austral.) Herald (Nexis) 29 Oct. (Sport section) 79 These fish have the typical perch-shaped body but their colouring is what one expects from a tropical fish.
C2. † perch-back adj. Obsolete = perch-backed adj.† perch-backed adj. Obsolete resembling a perch's back in shape.† perch-pest n. Obsolete rare a crustacean parasite of the common perch.† perch-stone n. Obsolete rare a ‘stone’ reported as found in the head of a perch.
ΚΠ
1859 G. W. Thornbury in Househ. Words 29 Jan. 206/1 Admiring..the perch-back ruffle of his shirt-front.
perch bug n. U.S. regional (north-eastern) a dragonfly nymph used as bait for fishing.
ΚΠ
1943 Berkshire Evening Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) 28 June 3/3 Dr. Trask is a fisherman of years of experience and recalled that the perch bug is the young of the dragon fly before it leaves the water where it hatches out and takes to wings.
2001 Daily Hampshire Gaz. (Northampton, Mass.) 6 Apr. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (online ed., accessed 1 Sept. 2021) at Perch bug This nymph is designed to imitate a dragonfly larva, what local fisherman know as ‘perch bugs.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > [adjective] > convex > upwardly convex
hulch-backed1611
perch-backed1652
coppling1670
humpbacked1681
hog-backed1717
sow-backed1728
fish-backed1825
whalebacked1869
whaleback1891
beetle-backed1959
1652 Perfect Diurnall No. 150. 2254 (advt.) Also a bright bay Nag, 14 handful high, with a bald face, a raw nose, and three white feet, pearch backed.
1872 J. Evans Anc. Stone Implements xxiv. 567 Lunate and perch-backed implements..are very scarce.
perch hole n. Angling an underwater depression in which perch are found.
ΚΠ
1891 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 783/1 What was formerly a famous perch-hole in my younger days, was declared to be perchless.
2002 Salt Lake Tribune (Nexis) 8 Dec. c3 There is no such thing as a great perch hole.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > member of > parasitic or destructive > parasite of the perch
perch-pest1835
1835 W. Kirby On Power of God in Creation of Animals II. Index Perch-pest. [Cf. p. 31, Pest of the Perch..takes its station usually within the mouth, fixing itself, by means of its sucker, in the cellular membrane.]
perch-pike n. = pikeperch n. at pike n.3 Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Percidae (perches) > [noun] > genus Stizostedion (pike-perches) > pike-perch
salmon1798
sudak1799
pikeperch1834
yellow pike1835
perch-pike1884
glass-eyed pike1890
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 772/2 Burbot, pike, perchpike, and perch are among the fish caught in the lake [sc. Onega].
1962 Times 22 Oct. 13/3 The grilled fresh-water fish—the perch-pike of Lake Balaton.
ΚΠ
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words The Perch-stone, a white stone found in the head of a Perch.
Derivatives
ˈperchlike adj.
ΚΠ
1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 432/1 Perch-like fishes whose operculum is produced behind.
1931 E. G. Boulenger Fishes xvi. 122 The Snappers (Lutianidæ) are fish of Perch-like shape, with powerfully developed teeth.
1992 Sci. Amer. Oct. 11/3 The European river ruffe, a perchlike fish that devours the eggs of other fish, has proliferated rapidly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
perchv.1
/pəːtʃ/, U.S. /pərtʃ/ I. Senses related to perch n.1 1.† 1. transitive. To provide with or fasten to a prop or similar support. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)] > with a post or stake
percha1398
stakea1500
stanchion1528
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 253 A vyne..haþ vertue and might to bynde hemself togideres and beþ perched & trayled and bounde to tryen þat ben nyȝe þerto.
2. transitive. To provide (a river, harbour, etc.) with navigation poles. rare (now English regional (southern)).
ΚΠ
1751 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1911) VI. 331 The river from the Garvell Point to Port Glasgow should be bowied or parchd on both sides.
1957 H. Hall Parish's Dict. Sussex Dial. (new ed.) 93/2 The channel is well perched.
II. Senses related to perch n.1 6.† 6. intransitive. slang. To die. Cf. to hop the perch at perch n.1 Phrases 2, perch n.1 6d, percher n.3 1. Obsolete. rare.
3. intransitive. Of a bird: to alight or settle on a perch; to roost. Hence of a person or animal: to sit, stand, or rest, esp. in an elevated or somewhat precarious position. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (intransitive)] > perch
sitOE
jouka1400
perch?a1425
to go (also come) to roosta1529
roost1530
perka1598
the world > space > relative position > high position > be in high position [verb (intransitive)]
perch1712
perk1794
?a1425 Pistel of Swete Susan (Huntington) 81 (MED) Þe popiniayes perchyn [c1390 Vernon perken; v.r. pykyn] and prunyn for proud, On piries and pynapples þei prikkyn in prees.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. C viij She perchith when she stondyth on any maner bowe or perch.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 656/1 I perche, as a hauke or byrde..on a boughe or perche, je perche.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xi. sig. V8 Her shoulders be like two white Doues, Pearching within square royall rooues.
1663 W. Charleton Chorea Gigantum 29 Where ever the Roman Eagle pearch'd.
1688 J. Barker Poet. Recreations I. 46 Disdain and Scorn sate perching on his Brow.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses ii. 13 Thou wilt be hung up in Chains, or thy Quarters perching upon the most conspicuous Places of the Kingdom.
1794 G. Shaw Zool. New Holland 10 The Ground Parrot—differs from all the rest of its tribe in never perching on trees.
1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 440 Birds of dazzling plume Perch on the loaded boughs.
1895 S. Crane Red Badge of Courage ii. 21 They seemed content to perch tranquilly on the river bank.
1931 H. S. Williams Bk. Marvels 96 The ‘tree-toad’ takes the color of whatever surface he perches on.
1955 Times 16 July 7/6 They perched, feeding on the leaves of mucka-mucka, a giant variety of arum.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 193 A few arty-farty types are perching on bar stools drinking beer or fancy coffee.
4.
a. transitive (reflexive). To sit or position oneself in an elevated or somewhat precarious position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (transitive)] > cause to perch
percha1450
the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (reflexive)] > perch
perch1575
the world > space > relative position > high position > set in high position [verb (reflexive)]
perka1522
perch1668
a1450 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 42 (MED) Euery nyȝt he perchit hym in myn ladyis chaumbyr.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 115 When you see them sit close that one to that other for warmth..pearche them, and lewre them both togither.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues i. 144 If you could pearch your self, as a Bird, on the top of some high Steeple.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. vii. 179 He had seen Rebecca perch herself upon the parapet of the turret.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xiii. 227 Perch yourself upon the spanker-boom, and let me know when you've rode to London.
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 5/1 Perching himself on the hydrant, young Rosenstein read without further interruption.
2001 Z. Mohyeddin in M. Shamsie Leaving Home 225 She perched herself on a big settee.
b. transitive. To set or place upon a perch; to position in any place that is elevated or somewhat precarious.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > set in a high position [verb (transitive)]
to set upc1290
mountc1300
erect1552
hoise1581
perch1648
pinnacle1656
spike1743
imperch1786
1648 J. Mason Princeps Rhetoricus 13 Custos induces his Fresh charge, pearcheth them up at the Bar: succeeds again Ceremonius with his whole Court-traine.
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred vii. 224 When on Indian Plains a Rattle-Snake Perches a Red-Bird in a shady Brake.
1845 Ainsworth's Mag. 8 214 In former days our builders of shooting jackets used to perch the buttons of the waist underneath our shoulder blades.
1878 H. B. Stowe Poganuc People xxv. 268 Will seized her off the ironing stool and, perching her on his shoulder, danced round the table.
1943 J. Laver Fashion & Fashion Plates 1800–1900 22 On their heads they perched a smaller version of the man's ‘homburg’.
1994 E. L. Doctorow Waterworks 33 A nose barely sufficient to perch the pince-nez there.
5. transitive (in passive). To be settled on a perch; to be standing or seated in any elevated or somewhat precarious place.Frequently in past participle in postmodifying non-finite clauses.
ΚΠ
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1991 Myn egle, faste by, Was perched hye upon a stoon.
1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 15 Bedfords an Eagle pearcht vpon a Tower.
1633 Battle of Lutzen in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) IV. 188 You shall find the heavenly benediction perched on the points of your swords.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. iv. iii. 17 Tom had almost recovered his little Namesake, when the Branch, on which it was perched ..broke. View more context for this quotation
1787 T. Jefferson Let. 21 May in Papers (1955) XI. 369 The ruins of Petrarch's chateau being perched on a rock 200 feet perpendicular above.
1862 C. A. Johns Brit. Birds 290 I have always failed to observe it actually perched and singing.
1884 Manch. Examiner 13 May 5/2 The heights on which the old town is perched.
1909 Emu 8 240 A splendid specimen of the Victoria Rifle-Bird was perched on an upright stick about 4 feet from the ground.
1995 Independent 28 Nov. (Suppl.) 22/3 Lowestoft, originally a small seaside village perched on the distant east coast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
1886 Sporting Times 3 Aug. 1/3 ‘Well, s'pose I perched first?’ ‘Well’, replied Pitcher, ‘I should just come in where you were lying’ [etc.].
III. Senses related to perch n.1 7.
7.
a. transitive. To stretch (cloth) on a perch in order to examine it for defects, or to raise a nap by hand carding. Also in extended use: to examine for errors, scrutinize carefully. Occasionally intransitive. Cf. perch n.1 7a. Now English regional (northern) and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > treat or process textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > stretch > for examination or removal of imperfections
perch1595
perk1828
1595 Award 1 Aug. in 14th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1894) App. iv. 225 No trader useinge to buy clothe within the saied county to carry..out of the same, shall or maie rowe, pirche, shere, or cotton the same.
1681 Minutes Hudson's Bay Co. (1945) I. 158 Ordered that Mr. Weymans..buy ten Clothes..to be sent in to Mrs. Mary Gillman's House in St. Mary Axe to be looked over and perched.
1883 T. Lees Easther's Gloss. Dial. Almondbury & Huddersfield Perch, to examine... Pieces of cloth are..thoroughly examined in order to discover burls or motes. I have heard this word used to explain the looking through an account-book with the view of discovering errors.
1886 H. Cunliffe Gloss. Rochdale-with-Rossendale Words & Phrases Peerch, To raise a nap on woollen.
b. transitive. To soften (leather) while it is hanging from a perch. Cf. perch n.1 7b. rare.
ΚΠ
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. 967/2 Perch, In Leather-manuf., to soften or draw out by means of a perch.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† perchv.2
Obsolete.
intransitive. To raise one's rank or status; to push oneself forward, esp. in a presumptuous or conceited manner. Also with up. Cf. perk v.2 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > self-assertiveness > be self-assertive [verb (intransitive)]
perkc1390
percha1530
a1530 T. Lupset Treat. Charitie (1533) f. 9 To be taken with pleasure of the body, to be ouer throwen with sorowe, to perche vp with gladnes... These and suche other be thynges, that..troublen and disquieten mans minde.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 299 b Contemning the authoritie of the higher powers..[they] will presume so proudly to pearch through intollerable pryde, to make themselves their coequalles.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 11 In Anno 1240, it [sc. Yarmouth] percht vp to be gouernd by balies.
1621 G. Hakewill King David's Vow 211 It never leaves pearching and pushing forward, till it set it selfe higher than is meet.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1c1300
n.21381v.1a1398
v.2a1530