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Synonyms for pearl

Grammar : Noun
Spell : purl
Phonetic Transcription : pÉœrl

Définition of pearl

Origin :
  • mid-13c., from Old French perle (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin perla (mid-13c.), of unknown origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *pernula, diminutive of Latin perna, which in Sicily meant "pearl," earlier "sea-mussel," literally "ham, haunch, gammon," so called for the shape of the mollusk shells.
  • Other theories connect it with the root of pear, also somehow based on shape, or Latin pilula "globule," with dissimilation. The usual Latin word for "pearl" was margarita (see margarite).
  • For pearls before swine, see swine. Pearl Harbor translates Hawaiian Wai Momi, literally "pearl waters," so named for the pearl oysters found there; transferred sense of "effective sudden attack" is attested from 1942 (in reference to Dec. 7, 1941).
  • noun gem
Example sentences :
  • He compares it to little things, to a tiny seed, to a handful of leaven, to a pearl.
  • Extract from : « De Profundis » by Oscar Wilde
  • "Just about as much as I gave you that pearl pin," retorted Kirkwood hotly.
  • Extract from : « The Black Bag » by Louis Joseph Vance
  • You shake it; it's the pearl stud there was last year—that's all.
  • Extract from : « Monday or Tuesday » by Virginia Woolf
  • Pearl Barley Water is made of an ounce of pearl barley, heated in half a pint of water over the fire in order to clean it.
  • Extract from : « The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, » by Mary Eaton
  • Ourn was a shrewd rascal and nothing more nor less than a pearl poacher.
  • Extract from : « Cape Cod Stories » by Joseph C. Lincoln
  • Father Dan rattled his pearl beads and moved his lips, but uttered no sound.
  • Extract from : « The Woman Thou Gavest Me » by Hall Caine
  • Knit one, again bring the silk forward, pearl one, and so repeat.
  • Extract from : « The Ladies' Work-Table Book » by Anonymous
  • The next row you pearl two, knit two, pearl five, and so on to the end.
  • Extract from : « The Ladies' Work-Table Book » by Anonymous
  • The fourth row you pearl three, knit one, and pearl six, alternately.
  • Extract from : « The Ladies' Work-Table Book » by Anonymous
  • It is a rare phenomenon, such a sight of the Pearl at sixty miles off.
  • Extract from : « 'Twixt Land & Sea » by Joseph Conrad

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019