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perch
perch1 / pərch/ • n. a thing on which a bird alights or roosts, typically a branch or a horizontal rod or bar in a birdcage. ∎ a place where someone or something rests or sits, esp. a place that is high or precarious: Marian looked down from her perch in a beech tree above the road. • v. [intr.] (of a bird) alight or rest on something: a herring gull perched on the mast. ∎ (of a person) sit somewhere, esp. on something high or narrow: Eve perched on the side of the armchair. ∎ (be perched) (of a building) be situated above or on the edge of something: the fortress is perched on a crag in the mountains. ∎ [tr.] (perch someone/something on) set or balance someone or something on (something): Peter perched a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles on his nose. PHRASES: knock someone off their perch inf. cause someone to lose a position of superiority or preeminence: will this knock London off its perch as Europe's leading financial center? perch2 • n. (pl. same or perches ) an edible freshwater fish (genus Perca) with a high spiny dorsal fin, dark vertical bars on the body, and orange lower fins. Its three species include the yellow perch (P. flavescens) of North America. The perch family also includes the pikeperches, ruffe, and darters. ∎ used in names of other freshwater and marine fishes resembling or related to this, e.g., climbing perch. perch3 • n. chiefly Brit., hist. a linear or square rod; see rod, sense 3. |
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"perch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "perch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-perch.html "perch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-perch.html |
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perch
perch common name for some members of the family Percidae, symmetrical freshwater fishes of N Europe, Asia, and North America. The perch belongs to the large order Perciformes (spiny-finned fishes) and is related to the sunfishes and the sea basses. Best known is the yellow (also called red) perch ( Perca flavescens ), a popular game and food fish abundant in lakes and large streams, where it feeds on insects, crayfish, and small fish and grows to an average length of 1 ft (30 cm) and weight of 1 lb (.5 kg). The voracious walleye, or walleyed pike ( Stizostedion vitreum ), another member of the family, is darker and larger (up to 10 lb/4.5 kg). Very similar to the walleye but slenderer and smaller is the Eastern sauger, or sand pike ( S. canadense ). The native American darters (2-3 in/5-8 cm), found E of the Rockies, are a subfamily containing many species, most of them brilliantly colored. Of separate families are the pirate perch, a chubby little fish of sluggish streams and bayous (family Aphredoderidae), and the trout perch, or sand roller, a small fish abundant in the Great Lakes (family Mugiloididae). Perches are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Percidae. |
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"perch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "perch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-perch.html "perch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-perch.html |
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perch
perch One of two species of freshwater food fish. The European perch (Perca fluviatilis) is deep-bodied and greenish in colour with dark vertical banding. The North American yellow perch (P. flavescens) is gold-coloured with black side-bars. Weight: 1.0–2.7kg (2.2–6lb). Family Percidae.
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"perch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "perch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-perch.html "perch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-perch.html |
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perch
perch former name for a measure of length, especially for land, equal to a quarter of a chain or 51/2
yards (approximately 5.029 m). Recorded from Middle English, the word comes via Old French from Latin pertica ‘measuring rod, pole’. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "perch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "perch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-perch.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "perch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-perch.html |
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perch
perch2 †pole, stake XIII; fixed bar, esp. for birds to rest upon; linear measure equal to 5 ½ yards XIV; superficial measure XV. — (O)F. perche :— L. pertica.
So vb. XV. — (O)F. percher. |
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T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-perch1.html T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-perch1.html |
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perch
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "perch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "perch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-perch.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "perch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-perch.html |
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perch
perch1 freshwater fish. XIII. — (O)F. perche :— L. perca — Gr. pérkē, rel. to perknós blackish, bluish.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-perch.html T. F. HOAD. "perch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-perch.html |
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perch
perch Freshwater fish, Perca fluviatilis.
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DAVID A. BENDER. "perch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "perch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-perch.html DAVID A. BENDER. "perch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-perch.html |
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perch
perch See PERCIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "perch." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "perch." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-perch.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "perch." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-perch.html |
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perch
perch •besmirch, birch, church, lurch, perch, search, smirch
•Christchurch • pikeperch
•wordsearch
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"perch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "perch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-perch.html "perch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-perch.html |
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