pearl : Idioms & Phrases

• (Zoöl.), an insect of the family Coccidæ (Margarodes formicarum), found in ants' nests in the Bahamas, and having a shelly covering. They are strung like beads, and made into necklaces by the natives.

Webster 1913

I"cy-pearl`ed adjective

Definitions

1. Spangled with ice.

   Mounting up in icy-pearled car. Milton.

Webster 1913

• noun the iridescent internal layer of a mollusk shell
  nacre.
  

WordNet

Moth"er-of-pearl` noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The hard pearly internal layer of several kinds of shells, esp. of pearl oysters, river mussels, and the abalone shells; nacre. See Pearl.

Webster 1913

• noun a luminous iridescent cloud at a high altitude that may be seen when the sun is a few degrees below the horizon
  nacreous cloud.
  

WordNet

• noun an impure form of potassium carbonate
  

WordNet

• noun United States singer (1918-1990)
  Bailey; Pearl Bailey.
  

WordNet

• noun barley ground into small round pellets
  

WordNet

• kernels of barley, ground so as to form small, round grains.

Webster 1913

• noun United States author whose novels drew on her experiences as a missionary in China (1892-1973)
  Buck; Pearl Buck.
  

WordNet

• noun a diver who searches for molluscs containing pearls
  pearler.
  

WordNet

• one who dives for pearl oysters.

Webster 1913

• 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.

Webster 1913

• cataract. R.

Webster 1913

• noun a fishery where they fish for pearl oysters
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite of a grey with a pearly tinge
  pearl gray.
  

WordNet

• a very pale and delicate blue-gray color.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite of a grey with a pearly tinge
  pearl gray.
  

WordNet

• noun a harbor on Oahu to the west of Honolulu; location of a United States naval base that was attacked by the Japanese on 7 Dec 1941
  

WordNet

• noun hominy prepared by milling to pellets of medium size
  

WordNet

• noun United States singer (1918-1990)
  Bailey; Pearl Bailey.
  

WordNet

• noun tall grass having cattail like spikes; grown in Africa and Asia for its grain and in the United States chiefly for forage; sometimes used in making beer
  cattail millet; Pennisetum Americanum; bulrush millet; Pennisetum glaucum.
  

WordNet

• Egyptian millet (Penicillaria spicata).

Webster 1913

• . See Carrageen.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Margaritia; so called on account of its pearly color.

Webster 1913

• noun tropical marine bivalve found chiefly off eastern Asia and Pacific coast of North America and Central America; a major source of pearls
  Pinctada margaritifera.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), 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.

Webster 1913

• . See Pearl white, below.

Webster 1913

• noun a river in southeast China that flows into the South China Sea
  Zhu Jiang; Chu Kiang; Canton River.
  
• noun a river in Mississippi that flows southward to the Gulf of Mexico
  

WordNet

• noun sago ground into small round grains
  

WordNet

• sago in the form of small pearly grains.

Webster 1913

• (Min.), fiorite.

Webster 1913

• (Min.), a crystallized variety of dolomite, having a pearly luster.

Webster 1913

• . See Purl stitch, under Purl.

Webster 1913

• noun United States author whose novels drew on her experiences as a missionary in China (1892-1973)
  Buck; Pearl Buck.
  

WordNet

• . (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, are less expensive.

Webster 1913

Pearl"-eyed` adjective

Definitions

1. Having a pearly speck in the eye; afflicted with the cataract.

Webster 1913

• noun found living within the alimentary canals of e.g. sea cucumbers or between the shells of pearl oysters in or near shallow seagrass beds
  pearlfish.
  

WordNet

• noun any of various low-growing plants of the genus Sagina having small spherical flowers resembling pearls
  pearlwort; pearlweed.
  

WordNet

• noun a small imperfect pearl
  

WordNet

• a small pearl of little value.

Webster 1913