Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
"PEARLS" is a plural of: pearl. |
Date "PEARLS" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of pearls, is a forerunner of good business and trade and affairs of social nature. If a young woman dreams that her lover sends her gifts of pearls, she will indeed be most fortunate, as there will be occasions of festivity and pleasure for her, besides a loving and faithful affianced devoid of the jealous inclinations so ruinous to the peace of lovers. If she loses or breaks her pearls, she will suffer indescribable sadness and sorrow through bereavement or misunderstandings. To find herself admiring them, she will covet and strive for love or possessions with a pureness of purpose. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Industry | Small loops either at the edge of a piece of narrow lace or used as decoration on brides. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by certain mollusks, primarily oysters, and is culivated or harvested for jewelry. Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain bivalve mollusks. As a response to an irritating object inside the shell, the mollusk will deposit layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the minerals aragonite or calcite (crystalline forms of calcium carbonate) held together by an organic horn-like compound called conchiolin. This combination of calcium carbonate and conchiolin is called nacre.The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers and is finer in proportion as the layers are thinner and more numerous. The iridescence which some pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, which breaks up light falling on the surface. Pearls are usually white, sometimes with a creamy or pinkish tinge, but may be tinted with yellow, green, blue, brown, or black. Black pearls, because of their rarity, are often highly valued.
Japanese female pearl diver
Almost all pearls used for jewelry nowadays are cultured by planting a core into oysters. The pearls are usually harvested two years after the planting. This mariculture process was first developed by Kokichi Mikimoto from Japan, who was granted a patent for the process in 1896. The original Japanese cultured pearls are produced by a species of small oysters no bigger than 6 to 7 cm in size, hence Japanese pearls larger than 10mm in diameter are extremely rare and highly priced. In the past couple of decades, cultured pearls have been produced with larger oysters in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean. South Sea pearls are characterized by their large size and silvery color, 14mm in diameter are not uncommon. Australia is one of the most important sources of South Sea pearls.
Recently (in the 1990s), the Japanese also invested in producing cultured pearls with fresh (brackish?) water mollusks in the region of Shanghai, China. Freshwater pearls are characterized by the reflection of rainbow color in the luster.
The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. Amongst those attributes, luster is the most important differentiator of pearl quality according to jewelers. For example, a small Japanese pearl is often valued higher than a bigger south sea pearl. Large perfectly round pearls are rare and highly valued and reserved for making rings. Teardrop shaped pearls are often used in pendants. Irregular shaped pearls are often used in necklaces.
See also freshwater pearl, baroque pearl, mother of pearl, Broome.
External link
Pearl is also the name of an alliterative poem written in Middle English. Its author, designated the Pearl poet, appears also to have been the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Purity. The text of Pearl appears online at [[1]
For the album by Janis Joplin, see Pearl (album)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pearl."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
PEARLS | English | Photon-Electron Alpha Rejecting Liquid Scintillation | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Inutility | Seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities; use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of Sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton, donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau, fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand; bay the moon; preach to the winds, speak to the winds; whistle jigs to a milestone; kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins; lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen; (too late);seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities; use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of Sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton, donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau, fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand; bay the moon; preach to the winds, speak to the winds; whistle jigs to a milestone; kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins; lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen; (too late); hold a farthing candle to the sun; cast pearls before swine; (waste); carry coals to Newcastle; (redundancy); wash a blackamoor white; (impossible). |
Waste | Waste its sweetness on the desert air ; cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine; employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel; labor in vain; (useless); cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: PEARLS |
| English words defined with "PEARLS": Alburn ♦ Baccated ♦ draw ♦ Empearl ♦ first water ♦ grain ♦ Impearl ♦ Margaritiferous, metric grain ♦ orzo ♦ pearl, pearl diver, pearl oyster, pearler, pearlweed, pearlwort, pearly, pearly-white, Pinctada margaritifera ♦ string ♦ thread. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "PEARLS": ARTIFICIAL-PEARL MAKER ♦ Cast Pearls before Swine ♦ densiscope ♦ EARRING MAKER ♦ Marguerite des Marguerites, Misnomers, Mita ♦ natural pearl ♦ pearl dipper, pearl maker, pearl peeler, PEARL RESTORER ♦ real pearl. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I wish I were a woman of 36, dressed in black satin with a string of pearls! (Rebecca; writing credit: Daphne Du Maurier; Philip MacDonald) Julie baby, I'm ga-ga about you. No kiddin', honey, your teeth are like pearls, your eyes are like diamonds and your lips -- like rubies (The Hollywood Revue of 1929; writing credit: Al Boasberg; Robert E. Hopkins) Maybe pearls. Maybe swine (Hannah Lee; writing credit: MacKinlay Kantor; Alford Van Ronkel) | |
Lyrics | You know I can't afford to buy her pearls (Uptown Girl; performing artist: Billy Joel) And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls (A Long December; performing artist: Counting Crows) Do you wanna be a diver for pearls (Burn; performing artist: Jo Dee Messina) The diamonds and pearls in the world (Too Busy Thinking About My Baby; performing artist: Marvin Gaye) Even if he promised me pearls (Forever Your Girl; performing artist: Paula Abdul) | |
Clever | Patience is the silken cord on which are strung the pearls of virtue. (references; author: unknown) Quotations are sometimes valuable pearls, but original thoughts can be priceless treasure. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Flag of Pearls (1968) Pearls Bring Tears (1937) The Slippery Pearls (1931) Red Pearls (1930) Pearls and Savages (1921) | |
Song Titles | Diamonds & Pearls (performing artist: Prince & The N.P.G.) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Araby deftly dropped a string of pearls into the mouth of the fresh-caught fish. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Indian princess presenting a necklace of pearls to de Soto / J.W. Orr, N.Y. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Choke on pearls" by Jessica Poli Commentary: "Me." | "Blue pearls" by Markus . Commentary: "Blue glass pearls." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Confucius | Good words are like a string of pearls. |
Erasmus | Apothegms are in history, the same as pearls in the sand, or gold in the mine. |
Honore De Balzac | In diving to the bottom of pleasure we bring up more gravel than pearls. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | And I see very few pearls in the room except mine |
The Tempest | William Shakespeare | Ariel (singing): Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Bahrain | Natural resources: Oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls. (references) |
Japan | Exports of U.S. species which notably increased to Japan from 1999 to 2000 are chilled skipjack ($190,000, up 100 times), frozen sardine ($8.0 million, up 2.7 times), frozen cod roe ($302 million, up 73 percent), other frozen fish roe ($12.5 million, up 69 percent), frozen herring ($955,000, up 78 percent), salted herring roe ($7.3 million, up 45 percent), frozen king crab ($59.6 million, up 38 percent), live spiny lobster ($413,000, up 4.72 times), live king crab ($241,000, up 2.52 times), live abalone ($2.5 million, up 2.38 times), other prepared fish ($993,000, up 5.19 times), ikura salmon eggs ($116 million, up 80 percent), caviar and caviar substitute ($1.6 million, up 217 times), and worked cultured pearls ($700,000, up 4.64 times). (references) | |
Trade | Lebanon | Products requiring licensing include some agricultural products (apples, olives, pearls, citrus fruit, almond and quince trees, potato seeds), manufactured chemicals (agricultural fertilizers), pharmaceutical items including veterinary vaccines and medicines, and cables, electrical and telephone wires. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "PEARLS" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 97.74% of the time. "PEARLS" is used about 354 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (plural) | 97.74% | 346 | 15,378 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.26% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Total | 100.00% | 354 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "PEARLS": cast pearls before swine ♦ cast pearls before swines ♦ imitation pearls ♦ rope of pearls ♦ seed pearls ♦ string of pearls. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "PEARLS": mother-of-pearls, seed-pearls. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "PEARLS"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | درر. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | изкуствени перли (imitation pearls). (various references) | |
Chinese | 璪 (pendant of pearls on coronet), 珠寶 (jewels and other precious stones; pearls). (various references) | |
Czech | nepravé perly (imitation pearls). (various references) | |
Danish | perler (bead, beads, node, nodule, pearl, purls). (various references) | |
Dutch | picotjes (purls). (various references) | |
Finnish | keinotekoiset helmet (imitation pearls), helminauha (beads, pearl necklace, string of pearls). (various references) | |
French | perles, languettes. (various references) | |
German | Perlen (beads, bubble, effervesce, fizz, pearlies, roll, sparkle, trickle). (various references) | |
Greek | μαργαριτάρια φυσικά περασμένα σε αρμαθιές (strung pearls), πέρλες κοβαλτίου (cobalt-60 pearls). (various references) | |
Hungarian | nyakban viselt gyöngysor (collar of pearls), gyöngysor (beadwork, collar of pearls, necklet, negligee, pearl necklace, rope), gyöngynyakék (collar of pearls). (various references) | |
Italian | orlo di maerletto a piccoli cappi (purls). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 豚に真珠 (cast pearls before swine, does not go well together). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | たからのもちぐされ (pearls thrown before swine), ねこにこばん (pearls before swine, really big waste of resources), しんえんしんじゅ (cultured pearls), ぶたにしんじゅ (cast pearls before swine, does not go well together), ようしょくしんじゅ (cultivated pearls), じんぞうしんじゅ (artificial pearls), じんこうしんじゅ (artificial pearls). (various references) | |
Manx | mynphearlyn (seed pearls). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | earlspay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | picote (embroidery, purl). (various references) | |
Romanian | şirag de perle (chaplet, rope of pearls). (various references) | |
Russian | культивированный жемчуг (cultured pearls). (various references) | |
Spanish | picos en el borde del encaje (purls). (various references) | |
Swedish | kasta pärlor för svin (cast pearls before swines), imiterade pärlor (imitation pearls). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 6 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Mh dwte to agion toiV kusin mhde balhte touV margaritaV umwn emprosqen twn coirwn mhpote katapathswsin autouV en toiV posin autwn kai strafenteV rhxwsin umaV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Nolite dare sanctum canibus neque mittatis margaritas vestras ante porcos ne forte conculcent eas pedibus suis et conversi disrumpant vos |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Nellen ge syl þæt hilige (sic) hunden.ne ge-wurpen eowre mere-groten to-foreneowren swinen. þy læs hye mid hyra fotanhyo tofortredan. & hyo þanne ne on-geanne wend eow to-slyten. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Nile ye yyue hooli thing to houndis, nethir caste ye youre margaritis bifore swyne, lest perauenture thei defoulen hem with her feet, and the houndis be turned, and al to-tere you. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Geve not that which is holy to dogges nether cast ye youre pearles before swyne lest they treade them vnder their fete and ye other tourne agayne and all to rent you. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Give not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, or put your jewels before pigs, for fear that they will be crushed under foot by the pigs whose attack will then be made against you. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 6 |
| Cebuano | "Ayaw ihatag sa mga iro ang butang balaan; ug ayaw iitsa ang inyong mga mutya ngadto sa mga baboy, kay tingali unyag ila kining yatakyatakan, ug sa pagsumbalik kaninyo ila kamong hanggaton. |
| Croatian | "Ne dajte svetinje psima! Niti svoga biserja bacajte pred svinje da ga ne pogaze nogama pa se okrenu i rastrgaju vas." |
| Danish | Giver ikke Hunde det hellige, kaster ikke heller eders Perler for Svin, for at de ikke skulle nedtræde dem med deres Fødder og vende sig og sønderrive eder. |
| Dutch | Geeft het heilige den honden niet, noch werpt uw paarlen voor de zwijnen; opdat zij niet te eniger tijd dezelve met hun voeten vertreden, en zich omkerende, u verscheuren. |
| Finnish | Älkää antako pyhää koirille, älkääkä heittäkö helmiänne sikojen eteen, etteivät ne tallaisi niitä jalkoihinsa ja kääntyisi ja repisi teitä. |
| French | Ne donnez pas les choses saintes aux chiens, et ne jetez pas vos perles devant les pourceaux, de peur qu`ils ne les foulent aux pieds, ne se retournent et ne vous déchirent. |
| German | Ihr sollt das Heiligtum nicht den Hunden geben, und eure Perlen nicht vor die Säue werfen, auf daß sie dieselben nicht zertreten mit ihren Füßen und sich wenden und euch zerreißen. |
| Haitian Creole | Piga nou bay chen bagay yo mete apa pou Bondye. Piga nou jete bèl grenn pèl nou yo devan kochon. Si nou fè sa, kochon yo va mache sou yo, epi y'a vire sou nou vin dechire nou. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Jangan berikan barang yang suci kepada anjing, supaya anjing itu jangan berbalik dan menyerangmu. Dan jangan berikan mutiara kepada babi, supaya babi itu jangan menginjak-injak mutiara itu." |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Janganlah kamu memberi barang yang kudus pada anjing, dan jangan dicampakkan mutiaramu di hadapan babi, kalau-kalau dipijak-pijaknya dengan kakinya serta berbalik mencarik kamu. |
| Italian | Non date le cose sante ai cani e non gettate le vostre perle davanti ai porci, perché non le calpestino con le loro zampe e poi si voltino per sbranarvi. |
| Manx Gaelic | Ny cur-jee shen ny ta casherick da ny moddee, chamoo hilgys shiu ny pearlyn eu roish muckyn, er-aggle dy stamp ad orroo fo chosh, as dy jyndaa ad reesht, as shiu y lhottey. |
| Maori | Kaua e hoatu te mea tapu ki nga kuri, kaua ano e maka a koutou peara ki te aroaro o nga poaka, kei takatakahia e o ratou waewae, a ka tahuri, ka haehae i a koutou. |
| Norwegian | Gi ikke hundene det hellige, og kast ikke eders perler for svinene, forat de ikke skal trå dem ned med sine føtter og vende sig om og sønderrive eder. |
| Portuguese | Não deis aos cães o que é santo, nem lanceis aos porcos as vossas pérolas, para não acontecer que as calquem aos pés e, voltando-se, vos despedacem. |
| Rumanian | Sq nu dayi cknilor lucrurile sfinte, wi sq nu aruncayi mqrgqritarele voastre knaintea porcilor, ca nu cumva sq le calce kn picioare, wi sq se kntoarcq sq vq rupq. |
| Russian | оЕ ДБЧБКФЕ УЧСФЩОЙ РУБН Й ОЕ ВТПУБКФЕ ЦЕНЮХЗБ ЧБЫЕЗП РЕТЕД УЧЙОШСНЙ, ЮФПВЩ ПОЙ ОЕ РПРТБМЙ ЕЗП ОПЗБНЙ УЧПЙНЙ Й, ПВТБФЙЧЫЙУШ, ОЕ ТБУФЕТЪБМЙ ЧБУ. |
| Shuar | `Ti shiira nuka Yawá Súsashtiniaiti. Nuna nakitrar amincha esatmichartimpiash. Kuítrumsha kuchi Súsashtiniaiti. Aya najatrachartatuak.' |
| Spanish | "No deis lo santo a los perros, ni echéis vuestras perlas delante de los cerdos, no sea que las pisoteen y después se vuelvan contra vosotros y os despedacen. |
| Swahili | "Msiwape mbwa vitu vitakatifu wasije wakageuka na kuwararua ninyi; wala msiwatupie nguruwe lulu zenu wasije wakazikanyaga. |
| Swedish | Given icke åt hundarna vad heligt är, och kasten icke edra pärlor för svinen, på det att dessa icke må trampa dem under fötterna och sedan vända sig om och sarga eder. |
| Uma | "Anu to moroli' neo' rawai' -ki dike', nee-neo' mpai' tumai nahoko' lau-ta-wadi. Anu to masuli' oli-na neo' rarora-ki wawu, apa' na'ihe' mara-wadi-hana. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words ending with "PEARLS": impearls. (additional references) | |
| |
"PEARLS" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cearls, Paarl, Pearks, pearle, pearles, Peierls, Peralla, perles, perls, Peurl, prael. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "PEARLS" (pronounced per"lz) |
| 3 | -er" l z | curls, earls, girls, swirls, twirls, whorls. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: lapser, parles. | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-l-p-r-s" | |
-1 letter: apers, apres, arles, asper, earls, lapse, lares, laser, leaps, lears, paler, pales, pares, parle, parse, peals, pearl, pears, pleas, prase, presa, rales, rapes, reals, reaps, salep, sepal, seral, spale, spare, spear. | |
-2 letters: ales, alps, aper, apes, apse, ares, arse, earl, ears, eras, laps, lars, lase, leap, lear, leas, pale, pals, pare, pars. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-l-p-r-s" | |
+1 letter: carpels, clasper, earlaps, felspar, lampers, lappers, lapsers, leapers, palmers, palters, parcels, parleys, paroles, parrels, parsley, pedlars, persalt, perusal, placers, planers, plasher, plaster, platers, players, pleaser, pleuras, presale, psalter, rappels, reclasp, relapse, repeals, replans, replays, reposal, sampler, scalper, slapper, spaller, sparely, sparkle, spheral, stapler. | |
+2 letters: apparels, appliers, asparkle, calipers, clampers, clappers, claspers, earflaps, earlship, earplugs, empalers, espalier, feldspar, felspars, flappers, flareups, grapnels, grapples, graupels, harelips, impalers, impearls, lampreys, lempiras, leopards, overlaps, paddlers, palavers, palestra, palfreys, parables, paralyse, parflesh, parolees, parsable, parsleys, parslied, partlets, pearlash, pearlers, pelorias, percales, pergolas, perillas, persalts, personal, perusals, petrales, petrosal, peytrals, pilaster, plaguers, plaister, plaiters, planners, planters, plashers, plashier, plasters, plastery, platters, pleaders, pleasers, pleasure, pleaters, polarise, polestar, pralines, prattles, prebasal, prelates, preplans, prevails, prolapse, psalters, psaltery, psoralea, psoralen, purslane, rampoles, reclasps, relapsed, relapser, relapses, repanels, replaces, replants, replates, repleads, replicas, reposals, reprisal, resample, samplers, sapropel, scalpers, sceptral, scrapple, shrapnel, slappers, slipware, spallers, spandrel, sparable, sparkled, sparkler, sparkles, sparlike, sparsely, spectral, specular, spiracle, spiraled, spirulae, splasher, splatter, spraddle, sprattle, sprawled, sprawler, staplers, superlay, supernal, templars, tramples, vesperal. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Bible Trace 15. Abbreviations 16. Acronyms | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
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