pearl

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pearl1

▶noun

• 1 a hard, lustrous spherical mass, typically white or bluish-grey, formed within the shell of an oyster or other bivalve mollusc and highly prized as a gem.

  ■ an artificial imitation of a pearl.

  ■ a very pale bluish-grey or white colour.

• 2 a highly valued person or thing: pearls of wisdom.

▶verb

• 1 literary form pearl-like drops.

• 2 (usu. as noun pearling) dive or fish for pearl oysters.

– phrases
cast pearls before swine offer valuable things to people who do not appreciate them. [with biblical allusion to Matt. 7:6.]

– derivatives
pearler noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. perle, perh. based on L. perna ‘leg’, extended to denote a leg-of-mutton-shaped bivalve.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pearl2

▶noun Brit. another term for picot.

– origin var. of purl1.