# pearl

Pronunciation: say "PURL" US /pɝl/, UK /pɜːl/

## Noun

1. A hard, lustrous, usually round body of nacre that forms inside certain mollusks, especially pearl oysters and river mussels, typically around an irritating particle, and is used in jewelry.
   - Simple: A small, shiny, usually round ball that grows inside an oyster or mussel and is used in jewelry.
   - _The diver pried open the oyster and found a small pink pearl lodged near the hinge._
   - _She wore a strand of freshwater pearls that had belonged to her grandmother._
2. A small but valuable piece of knowledge, especially a short saying or practical tip that helps in making decisions.
   - Simple: A short, useful piece of advice or knowledge that helps you decide what to do.
   - _The senior nurse shared a few clinical pearls about spotting sepsis early._
   - _Her best pearl for new managers was simple: never make a big decision on a Friday afternoon._
3. Something precious or highly valued, such as a person of rare worth.
   - Simple: Something or someone that is very special and precious.
   - _The new housekeeper turned out to be a pearl, and the family could not imagine managing without her._
   - _The little harbor town is the pearl of the coast, and summer visitors fill it every year._
4. Nacre, or mother-of-pearl: the hard, lustrous material that pearls are made of.
   - Simple: The shiny material that pearls are made of, also called mother-of-pearl.
   - _The guitar's fretboard is inlaid with pearl and abalone._
   - _She sewed six small pearl buttons onto the blouse._
5. Short for pearl tapioca. — Ellipsis of pearl tapioca.
   - Simple: Short for pearl tapioca. Small balls of tapioca, like the ones in bubble tea.
   - _I'll have a large milk tea with extra pearl, please._
   - _The shop cooks a fresh batch of pearl every two hours so it stays chewy._
12. A capsule of gelatin or a similar material that holds a liquid, for example a medicine.
   - Simple: A capsule made of gelatin or something like it, with liquid such as medicine inside.
   - _Each pearl contains a measured dose of fish oil sealed in soft gelatin._
   - _The pharmacist suggested garlic oil pearls for patients who dislike the taste of fresh garlic._
14. A euphemistic slang word for the clitoris, used mainly in sexual and erotic contexts. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A softer slang word for the clitoris, a part of a woman's sex organs.
   - _His fingers found her pearl, and she caught her breath._
   - _She told him plainly that most of her pleasure came from her pearl, not from anything else._
15. A whitish speck on the eye, or a pale film covering it.
   - Simple: A small white spot or thin white layer on the eye.
   - _A pearl had formed over the cat's right eye, clouding its sight._
   - _The physician noted a faint pearl on the cornea and prescribed drops._
16. In heraldry, the name for argent, the silver or white tincture, in the system that names tinctures after precious stones.
   - Simple: In coats of arms, the color silver or white, when colors are named after jewels.
20. One of the ring of small knobs that together form the bur on a deer's antler.
   - Simple: One of the small bumps that form a rough ring on a deer's antler.
   - _A single pearl had broken off the ring at the bur of the left antler._
   - _Taxidermists take care not to chip the pearls when cleaning a mounted rack._

## Verb

6. To set or decorate with pearls or mother-of-pearl, or figuratively with things that look like them.
   - Simple: To decorate something with pearls, or with small things that look like pearls.
   - _Workers at the bridal shop pearl each bodice by hand, which takes several days._
   - _Morning dew pearled the spider's web strung across the gate._
7. Of a liquid, to gather into small beads or droplets.
   - Simple: For a liquid, to form small round drops.
   - _Condensation pearled on the outside of the cold glass._
   - _Sweat began to pearl on his forehead as the interview dragged on._
8. To make something into small round grains that resemble pearls in shape.
   - Simple: To make something into small round grains, like little pearls.
   - _The mill pearls the barley, grinding each grain down to a small round bead._
   - _Some farmers pearl their own farro so it cooks faster._
9. To give something a luster or iridescence like that of pearls.
   - Simple: To make something look shiny and glowing, like a pearl.
   - _The factory pearls the glass of each bulb so the light comes out soft and even._
   - _Car makers pearl the paint with a shimmering top coat that changes color in the sun._
10. To hunt or search for pearls.
   - Simple: To go out looking for pearls.
   - _As a young man he went pearling off the northern coast every season._
   - _Divers who pearl in these waters still work from small wooden boats._
11. In surfing, to sink the nose of one's board into the water, often on takeoff; also said of the board's nose.
   - Simple: In surfing, to let the front of your board dig under the water, often when catching a wave.
   - _I pearled on my first three waves and got tossed over the falls each time._
   - _Longboards with round noses tend to pearl when the wave gets steep._
13. Of water plants, to form visible bubbles on their stems and leaves during photosynthesis, usually in an aquarium or similar tank.
   - Simple: Of underwater plants, to show tiny bubbles on their leaves while using light to make food.
   - _With strong lighting and added carbon dioxide, many carpet plants will pearl within a few hours._
   - _Hobbyists love watching their stem plants pearling under bright lights._
18. In the video game Minecraft, to teleport by throwing an ender pearl.
   - Simple: In the game Minecraft, to throw an ender pearl to move instantly to another spot.
   - _Speedrunners often pearl over walls to save a few seconds._
   - _He tried pearling up to the tower but landed short and fell._

## Noun

17. A size of printing type between diamond and agate, standardized at 5 points. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A very small size of letters used in printing, equal to 5 points.
   - _The pocket dictionary was set in pearl, which kept it slim but strained the reader's eyes._
   - _The compositor reached for a case of pearl to fit the long table onto a single page._
19. A jewel or gem of any kind. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A jewel or precious stone of any kind.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To have the look of pearl or of pearls.
- (noun) The brill, a fish closely related to the turbot.
- (noun) A tern whose feathers are light in color.
- (noun) A fringe or border along the edge of something.

## Origin

From Middle English perle, from Old French perle, whose origin is uncertain: probably from an unrecorded Medieval Latin *pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a sea shellfish shaped like a leg of lamb”), though it is also traced to Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”). The printing sense comes from Jean Jannon's name for the type of his tiny 1620s editions of Vergil, Horace and the New Testament, and the surfing sense from a supposed likeness to pearl diving.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pearl (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).