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pearl
pearl in figurative use, a precious, noble, or fine thing, the finest or best member or part. There is also a tradition that pearls may portend tears; they were supposed to be unlucky for brides, and in Webster's Duchess of Malfi (c.1623), the doomed Duchess dreams that the diamonds in her coronet are changed to pearls.
In heraldry, pearl is used for the tincture argent in the fanciful blazon of arms of peers. Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes from Old French perle, perhaps based on Latin perna ‘leg’, extended to denote a leg-of-mutton shaped bivalve. do not throw pearls to swine proverbial saying, mid 14th century, meaning that you should not offer something of value to someone unable to appreciate it. Originally with biblical allusion to Matthew 7:6, ‘Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet.’ Pearl Harbor a harbour on the island of Oahu, in Hawaii, the site of a major American naval base, where a surprise attack on 7 December 1941 by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft inflicted heavy damage and brought the US into the Second World War. The name may now be used allusively for a sudden and disastrous attack, mounted without warning. Pearl Mosque a white marble mosque at Agra in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, built in the 17th century by the emperor Akbar (1542–1605). |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pearl." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pearl." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pearl.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pearl." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pearl.html |
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The Pearl
The Pearl one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author, who flourished c.1370-1390. The Pearl is usually explained as an elegy for the poet's young daughter; in an allegorical vision of singular beauty he sees her as a maiden in paradise and becomes reconciled to her death. The second and third poems, Cleanness (or Purity ) and Patience, are homiletic poems on those virtues. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the fourth poem, which relates a fabulous adventure of Gawain , is perhaps the most brilliantly conceived of all Arthurian romances. If single authorship is accepted, the artistry displayed in this poem and in The Pearl make the so-called Pearl -poet in some respects a rival to Chaucer. A fifth poem, St. Erkenwald, is attributed by some authorities to the same anonymous author.
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"The Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "The Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Pearl.html "The Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Pearl.html |
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Pearl
Pearl, an alliterative poem in 1,212 lines of twelve-lined octosyllabic stanzas from the second half of the 14th cent., the only manuscript of which is the famous Cotton Nero A. X which is also the sole manuscript of Patience, Cleanness, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and which comes from the North-West Midlands. Modern critical practice treats the four poems in the manuscript as the work of a single author. Pearl was the author's daughter and only child, who had died before she was two years old. Wandering in misery, in the garden where she is buried, he has a vision of a river beyond which lies Paradise. Here he sees a maiden seated whom he recognizes as his daughter. She chides him for his excessive grief and describes her blessed state. He argues with her about the justice that makes her queen of Heaven when she died so young. Convinced by her, he plunges into the river in an attempt to join her, and awakes, comforted and reassured of his faith in God. The form and language of the poem are extremely brilliant.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Pearl." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Pearl." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Pearl.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Pearl." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Pearl.html |
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Pearl
Pearl Chin. Zhujiang, river, 110 mi (177 km) long, S Guangdong prov., S China. Formed at Guangzhou by the confluence of the Xi and Bei rivers, it flows E then S past Guangzhou and Huangpu island to form a large estuary between Hong Kong and Macao. The river links Guangzhou to Hong Kong and the South China Sea and is one of China's most important waterways and one of the centers of its world trade. It is vitally important to the special economic zones that lie along its estuary. The estuary, called Boca Tigris, is kept open for ocean vessels by dredging. |
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"Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-PearlRChi.html "Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-PearlRChi.html |
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pearl
pearl Used as an ornament in NT times, although discouraged as ostentatious amongst Christian women (1 Tim. 2: 9) but appropriate for the gates of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21: 21). In one of Jesus' parables, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price, or value, found by a merchant (Matt. 13: 45–6).
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "pearl." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "pearl." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pearl.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "pearl." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pearl.html |
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Pearl
Pearl river, 485 mi (781 km) long, rising in E Miss. and flowing S to Lake Borgne, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico; its lower section (116 mi/187 km) forms the Miss.-La. boundary. Above Jackson, Miss., the Pearl's largest city, is Ross Barnett Reservoir, one of the state's chief water-storage areas. |
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Cite this article
"Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-PearlRUS.html "Pearl." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-PearlRUS.html |
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Pearl
Pearl ♀ One of the group of names coined in the 19th century from words for precious and semi-precious stones. It has a longer history as a Jewish name, representing an Anglicized form of Yiddish Perle (see also Peninnah).
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pearl." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pearl." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pearl.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pearl." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pearl.html |
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pearl
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T. F. HOAD. "pearl." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pearl." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pearl.html T. F. HOAD. "pearl." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pearl.html |
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Pearl
Pearl a city in central Mississippi, just east of Jackson; pop. 21,961. |
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"Pearl." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Pearl." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pearl.html "Pearl." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pearl.html |
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pearl
pearl •birl, burl, churl, curl, earl, Erle, furl, girl, herl, hurl, knurl, merle, pas seul, pearl, purl, Searle, skirl, squirl, swirl, twirl, whirl, whorl
•salesgirl
•ballgirl, call girl
•cowgirl • showgirl • schoolgirl
•choirgirl • weathergirl • Husserl
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"pearl." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pearl." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pearl.html "pearl." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pearl.html |
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