Pearl

See also: pearl

English

Etymology

From pearl.

• (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”).
• (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).

Proper noun

Pearl (countable and uncountable, plural Pearls)

1. A female given name from English.
   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Chapter VI”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:

     Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother's only treasure!

   • 1992, Karen Kijewski, Kat's Cradle, page 7:

     "What was your name?"
     "Pearl." Ruby and Pearl, mother and daughter. "It's an ugly name, isn't it?"
     "No, it isn't". And I meant it, it wasn't. "Old-fashioned, perhaps, but nice."
     She stared at me. "Do you know what pearls are? They're ugliness: dirt or sand gets in an oyster and the oyster coats it over so that it won't be irritating."

2. A surname.
3. A placename:
   1. (with the) Ellipsis of Pearl River: various Pearl Rivers across the world.
      1. Particularly, the river in Guangdong, China, the major river of Canton Province in the People's Republic of China.
         • 2021, John Reibetanz, Earth Words: Coversing with Three Sages‎^[1], →ISBN, →OCLC, page [2]:

           The Pearl is a river system in southern China.

   2. Ellipsis of Pearl Harbor: a harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, United States, in the Pacific.

Anagrams

• APLer, Alper, lepra, paler, parle, repla

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Pearl, from pearl.

Proper noun

Pearl

1. a female given name from English

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Pearl.

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Pearl, from pearl.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈpeɾl/ [ˈpəɹl]
• Rhymes: -eɾl

Proper noun

Pearl (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜒᜇ᜔ᜎ᜔)

1. a female given name from English