Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pearl
2.
Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl; something very precious.
I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s
pearl
. Shakespeare
And those
pearls
of dew she wears. Milton.
3.
Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.
4.
(Zool.)
A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.
5.
(Zool.)
A light-colored tern.
6.
(Zool.)
One of the circle of tubercles which form the bur on a deer's antler.
7.
A whitish speck or film on the eye.
[Obs.]
Milton.
8.
A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing some liquid for medicinal application, as ether.
9.
(Print.)
A size of type, between agate and diamond.
☞ This line is printed in the type called
pearl
. Ground pearl
. (Zool.)
See under
– Ground
. Pearl barley
, kernels of barley, ground so as to form small, round grains.
– Pearl diver
, one who dives for pearl oysters.
– Pearl edge
, an edge of small loops on the side of some kinds of ribbon; also, a narrow kind of thread edging to be sewed on lace.
– Pearl eye
, cataract.
[R.]
– Pearl gray
, a very pale and delicate blue-gray color.
– Pearl millet
, Egyptian millet (
– Penicillaria spicata
). Pearl moss
. See
– Carrageen
. Pearl moth
(Zool.)
, any moth of the genus
– Margaritia
; – so called on account of its pearly color. Pearl oyster
(Zool.)
, any one of several species of large tropical marine bivalve mollusks of the genus
– Meleagrina
, or Margaritifera
, found in the East Indies (especially at Ceylon), in the Persian Gulf, on the coast of Australia, and on the Pacific coast of America. Called also pearl shell
, and pearl mussel
. Pearl powder
. See
– Pearl white
, below. Pearl sago
, sago in the form of small pearly grains.
– Pearl sinter
(Min.)
, fiorite.
– Pearl spar
(Min.)
, a crystallized variety of dolomite, having a pearly luster.
– Pearl white
. (a)
Basic bismuth nitrate, or bismuth subchloride; – used chiefly as a cosmetic
. (b)
A variety of white lead blued with indigo or Berlin blue.
– cultured pearl
, a pearl grown by a pearl oyster into which a round pellet has been placed, to serve as the seed for more predictable growth of the pearl. The pellet is usually made from mother-of-pearl, and additional layers of nacre are deposited onto the seed by the oyster. Such pearls, being more easily obtained than natural pearls from wild oysters, are less expensive.
Pearl
(pẽrl)
, Adj.
Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of mother-of-pearl.
Pearl
,Verb.
T.
1.
To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used also figuratively.
2.
To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round grains;
as, to
. pearl
barleyPearl
,Verb.
I.
1.
To resemble pearl or pearls.
2.
To dive or hunt for pearls;
as, to go
. pearling
Webster 1828 Edition
Pearl
PEARL
,Noun.
1.
A white, hard, smooth, shining body, usually roundish, found in a testaceous fish of the oyster kind. The pearl-shell is called matrix perlarum, mother of pearl, and the pearl is found only in the softer part of the animal. It is found in the Persian seas and in many parts of the ocean which washes the shores of Arabia and the continent and isles of Asia, and is taken by divers. Pearls are of different sizes and colors; the larger ones approach to the figure of a pear; some have been found more than an inch in length. They are valued according to their size, their roundness, and their luster or purity, which appears in a silvery brightness.2.
Poetically, something round and clear, as a drop of water or dew.3.
A white speck of film growing on the eye.PEARL
,Verb.
T.
PEARL
,Verb.
I.