pearl

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A small, round, shiny white gem that forms inside an oyster, often used in jewellery.

   She wore a simple necklace of white pearls.

2. 2
   noun

   A small, valuable piece of advice or wisdom.

   His grandfather shared a few pearls of wisdom before the journey.

3. 3
   verb

   To form into small round drops resembling pearls.

   Sweat pearled on his forehead in the heat.

Inherited from Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin *pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”). Its typographic use follows the name given by Jean Jannon to the type used in his miniature editions of Vergil, Horace, & the New Testament in the 1620s, which were the smallest printed works to his time. Its surfing use derives from the supposed resemblance to pearl diving.

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