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).
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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