pearl English · revision 7381

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1259|origins=la-med perla}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɜːl/ ''(UK)''; /pɝl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English perle, [[bor|fro|perle]] and Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|perla]], of unknown origin,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) perhaps from Vulgar Latin *pernula, a diminutive of Latin [[m|la|perna|t=ham, haunch; in Sicily, a sea mussel]], from the leg-of-mutton shape of the shell.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) Other theories connect it with [[pear]] or with Latin pilula, a globule.^(Etymonline) The usual Latin word was margarita.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A lustrous concretion formed in a mollusc's shell: before 1259 in the OED, before 1349 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) as a surname from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Something especially precious or the finest of its kind is from the 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and something small, round and glistening from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) Word Origins notes that the Romans greatly prized freshwater pearls, and that Britain's reputation as a source of them was one motive for the Roman invasion.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Pearls before swine'' comes from Matthew 7:6.^(Etymonline) The verb, to adorn with pearls, is late 14th-century,^(Etymonline) and to form drops like pearls from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) An artificial pearl is from 1638.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1259 – a pearl.^(OED 1989)

+ * 14th century – something precious.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – something round and glistening.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1638 – artificial pearl.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hard, lustrous, usually white or bluish-grey ball formed inside the shell of an [[oyster]] or other mollusc, valued as a gem.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something very valuable or the finest of its kind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Mother-of-pearl.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pale bluish-grey or white colour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To form pearl-like drops.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pearler]]

+ * [[pearlish]]

+ * [[pearllike]]

+ * [[impearl]]

+ * [[pearlash]]

+ * [[pearlfish]]

+ * [[pearlized]]

+ * [[pearlescent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pearly]]

+ * [[margarite]]

+ * [[nacre]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate pearl, a small loop in lace, is an alteration of [[purl]] (1542).^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}