What is "pearl"

Brill \Brill\, n. [Cf. Corn. brilli mackerel, fr. brith streaked, speckled.] (Zo["o]l.) A fish allied to the turbot ( Rhombus levis), much esteemed in England for food; -- called also bret, pearl, prill. See Bret. [1913 Webster] ||

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.\n

\nOther 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).\n

\nFor 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).

n. 1 A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in the mantle, or between the mantle and shell, of certain bivalve mollusks, especially in the pearl oysters and river mussels, and sometimes in certain univalves. It is usually due to a secretion of shelly substance around some irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as nacre, or mother-of-pearl. Round lustrous pearls are used in jewellery. 2 (context figuratively English) Something precious. 3 A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing liquid for e.g. medicinal application. 4 nacre, or mother-of-pearl. 5 A whitish speck or film on the eye. 6 A fish allied to the turbot; the brill. 7 A light-colored tern. 8 One of the circle of tubercle which form the bur on a deer's antler. 9 (context uncountable typography printing dated English) The size of type between diamond and agate, standardized as 5-point. 10 A fringe or border. 11 (context obsolete English) A jewel or gem. vb. 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 barley. 3 To resemble pearl or pearls. 4 To give or hunt for pearls; as, to go pearling. 5 (context surfing English) to dig the nose of one's surfboard into the water, often on takeoff.

1. n. a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel

2. a shade of white the color of bleached bones [syn: bone, ivory, off-white]

3. a shape that is small and round; "he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops"; "beads of sweat on his forehead" [syn: drop, bead]

v. gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes ( baroque pearls) occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable.

The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls. Cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Imitation pearls are also widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of their iridescence is usually very poor and is easily distinguished from that of genuine pearls. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry, but in the past were also used to adorn clothing. They have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations.

Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent, like the interior of the shell that produces them. However, almost all species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls (technically "calcareous concretions") of lesser shine or less spherical shape. Although these may also be legitimately referred to as "pearls" by gemological labs and also under U.S. Federal Trade Commission rules, and are formed in the same way, most of them have no value except as curiosities.

Pearl ( Middle English: Perle) is a late 14th-century Middle English poem by an unknown author. With elements of medieval allegory and dream vision genre, the poem is written in a North-West Midlands variety of Middle English and highly—though not consistently— alliterative; there is a complex system of stanza linking and other stylistic features.

A father, mourning the loss of his "perle [pearl]", falls asleep in a garden; in his dream he encounters the 'Pearl-maiden'—a beautiful and heavenly woman—standing across a stream in a strange landscape. In response to his questioning and attempts to obtain her, she answers with Christian doctrine. Eventually she shows him an image of the Heavenly City, and herself as part of the retinue of Christ the Lamb. When the Dreamer attempts to cross the stream, he awakens suddenly from his dream and reflects on its significance.

The poem survives in a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A.x, which includes two other religious narrative poems: Patience, and Cleanness, and the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. All are thought to be by the same author, dubbed the " Pearl poet" or " Gawain poet", on the evidence of stylistic and thematic similarities.

A pearl is a hard object produced by mollusks.

Pearl may also refer to:

PEARL, or Process and experiment automation realtime language, is a computer programming language designed for multitasking and real-time programming. Being a high-level language, it is fairly cross-platform. Since 1977, the language has been going under several standardization steps by the Deutsches Institut für Normung. The current version is PEARL-90, which was standardized in 1998 as DIN 66253-2.

PEARL is not to be confused with the similarly named Perl, an entirely unrelated programming language created by Larry Wall in 1987.

Pearl is an American television sitcom which aired on CBS from September 16, 1996 until June 25, 1997. The series starred Rhea Perlman, in what was her return to television after the conclusion of her long-running series Cheers three years earlier. Don Reo created the series, and Perlman served as an executive producer alongside Reo, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas and Gary S. Levine. Pearl was produced by Impact Zone Productions and Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Pearl is the second and final solo studio album by Janis Joplin, released posthumously on Columbia Records, catalogue KC 30322, in January 1971. It was also released simultaneously in a 4 channel Quadraphonic format in the U.S., catalogue number CQ 30322, and in Japan as SOPN 90 and a foil type cover with obi as SOPN 44005. It was the final album with her direct participation, and the only Joplin album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.

Pearl is a 1978 American miniseries on ABC about events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It starred a large cast, notably Dennis Weaver, Tiana Alexandra, Robert Wagner, Angie Dickinson, Brian Dennehy, Lesley Ann Warren, Gregg Henry, Max Gail, Richard Anderson, Marion Ross, Audra Lindley, Char Fontane, Katherine Helmond and Adam Arkin. To keep production costs manageable, the scenes of the attack were footage originally shot for the film Tora! Tora! Tora!; the miniseries also used newly dubbed footage of So Yamamura to portray the Japanese commander of the attack.

Pearl was an American literary journal published between 1974 and 2014 in Long Beach, California.

Pearl is a primarily feminine given name derived from the English word pearl, a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living, shelled mollusk. Pearls are commonly used in jewelry-making. The pearl is the birthstone for the month of June. Pearls have been associated with innocence and modesty. Because it comes from the sea, it also has associations with the moon and with water. Pearls are also traditionally considered appropriate jewelry for debutantes and brides.

Pearl came into popular use along with other gemstone names during the late Victorian Era. It may also have been inspired by the name Margaret, which means "pearl." In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, heroine Hester Prynne names her illegitimate daughter Pearl because the child is "of great price, purchased with all she had, her mother's only treasure." The passage refers to the Parable of the Pearl in the New Testament. The gates to Heaven are also commonly pictured as made of pearl.

It was among the 50 most popular names for girls born in the United States between 1880 and 1911, remained among the top 100 most popular names for girls between 1911 and 1926 and remained among the top 500 most popular names for girls in the United States until 1960. It was last ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls born in the United States in 1986 before it returned to the top 1,000 in 2007, when it was ranked at No. 993. It rose to No. 814 by 2011 and was given to 327 American girls born in that year. The name was among the top 1,000 names given to boys in the United States between 1880 and 1939. The name was the 223rd most common name for women and girls in the United States in the 1990 census. Authors Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz noted in their 2007 book The Baby Name Bible that Pearl is in fashion again with hipster parents in the United States.

Pearl can also be a surname, one which is common among Jews.

Pearl is a 1978 radio play by award-winning English playwright John Arden. Set in England in the 1640s, the play concerns a young Irish political operative named Pearl, who, with playwright Tom Backhouse, attempts to sway the political climate in favor of the British Parliament, as part of a plan to achieve Irish sovereignty.

The color pearl is a pale tint of off-white. It is a representation of the average color of a pearl.

The first recorded use of pearl as a color name in English was in 1604.

The color used in interior design when an off-white tint is desired.

Pearl is the annual cultural fest of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus. It consists of a variety of events in music, dance, theatre, arts, photography, VFX, quizzing and literary activities. It had its inception in 2009 as an intra-college festival, a year after the foundation of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad.

Pearl is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Bruce Pearl (born 1960), American college basketball coach
• Daniel Pearl (1963–2002), American journalist who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan
• Judea Pearl (born 1936), computer scientist and philosopher
• Minnie Pearl (1912–1996), American country comedian
• Raymond Pearl (1879–1940), American biologist
• Steven Pearl (born 1955), American comedian
• Richard Perle (born 1941), American political advisor

Pearl, occasionally known as Pearl Liaison, is the stage name of American drag performer and record producer Matthew James Lent. Lent garnered fame through competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing joint runner-up. He released his debut album Pleasure on June 2, 2015. His debut fragrance, Flazéda was released on June 30, 2015.

Pearl is a fictional character from the 2013 animated series Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar. She is a "Gem", a fictional alien being that exists as a magical gemstone projecting a holographic body. Pearl is a character with a low self-esteem due to the way she is treated in Gem society. She is frequently praised for being a positive depiction of a queer character, though her strong obsession with fellow character Rose Quartz has been described as "unhealthy".