perch
Use Perch in a sentence
noun
1.
a pole or rod, usually horizontal, serving as a roost for birds.
2.
any place or object, as a sill, fence, branch, or twig, for a bird, animal, or person to alight or rest upon.
3.
a high or elevated position, resting place, or the like.
4.
a small, elevated seat for the driver of any of certain vehicles.
5.
a pole connecting the fore and hind running parts of a spring carriage or other vehicle.
6.
a post set up as a navigational aid on a navigational hazard or on a buoy.
7.
British.
a.
a linear or square rod.
b.
a measure of volume for stone, about 24 cubic feet (0.7 cubic meters).
8.
Textiles. an apparatus consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal roller, used for inspecting cloth after it leaves the loom.
9.
Obsolete. any pole, rod, or the like.
verb (used without object)
10.
to alight or rest upon a perch.
11.
to settle or rest in some elevated position, as if on a perch.
00:10
Perch
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
verb (used with object)
12.
to set or place on or as if on a perch.
13.
to inspect (cloth) for defects and blemishes after it has been taken from the loom and placed upon a perch.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English perche < Old French < Latin pertica pole, staff, measuring rod
1250–1300; Middle English perche < Old French < Latin pertica pole, staff, measuring rod
Related forms
perch·a·ble, adjective
un·perched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun, plural (especially collectively) perch (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) perch·es.
1.
any spiny-finned, freshwater food fish of the genus Perca, as P. flavescens (yellow perch) of the U.S., or P. fluviatilis, of Europe.
2.
any of various other related, spiny-finned fishes.
3.
any of several embioticid fishes, as Hysterocarpus traski (tule perch) of California.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English perche < Middle French < Latin perca < Greek pérkē
1350–1400; Middle English perche < Middle French < Latin perca < Greek pérkē
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To perch
Collins
World English Dictionary
perch1 (pɜːtʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a pole, branch, or other resting place above ground on which a bird roosts or alights |
| 2. | a similar resting place for a person or thing |
| 3. | another name for rod |
| 4. | a solid measure for stone, usually taken as 198 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches |
| 5. | a pole joining the front and rear axles of a carriage |
| 6. | a frame on which cloth is placed for inspection |
| 7. | obsolete, dialect or a pole |
| —vb | |
| 8. | ( |
| 9. | (tr) to inspect (cloth) on a perch |
| [C13 perche stake, from Old French, from Latin pertica long staff] | |
| 'percher1 | |
| —n | |
| perch2 (pɜːtʃ) | |
| —n , pl perch, perches | |
| 1. | any freshwater spiny-finned teleost fish of the family Percidae, esp those of the genus Perca, such as P. fluviatilis of Europe and P. flavescens (yellow perch) of North America: valued as food and game fishes |
| 2. | any of various similar or related fishes |
| Related: percoid | |
| [C13: from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Greek perkē; compare Greek perkos spotted] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
perch
"where a bird rests," late 13c., "a pole, rod, stick, stake," from O.Fr. perche "unit of linear measurement" (5.5 yards), also "measuring rod, pole, bar" used to measure this length (13c.), from L. pertica "pole, long staff, measuring rod," related to Oscan perek "pole," Umbrian perkaf "twigs, rods."
Meaning "a bar fixed horizontally for a hawk or tame bird to rest on" is attested from late 14c.; this led to general sense of "any thing that any bird alights or rests on" (late 15c.). Figurative sense of "an elevated or secure position" is recorded from 1520s. The verb is first recorded late 14c., from the noun. The "land-measuring rod" sense also was in M.E., hence surviving meaning "measure of land equal to a square lineal perch" (usually 160 to the acre), mid-15c.
perch
"spiny-finned freshwater fish," c.1300, from O.Fr. perche, from L. perca "perch," from Gk. perke, from PIE base *perk-/*prek- "speckled, spotted" (cf. Skt. prsnih "speckled, variegated;" Gk. perknos "dark-colored," perkazein "to become dark").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Now you can perch those high-end headphones onto a curved plywood stand.
Most birds declined to touch the new object, but some curious birds did flit to the nearby perch for a closer look.
More than one of the pioneers used his perch as a steppingstone to the other side of the screen.
Haynes climbed the spinning, rocking structure to a perilous and precarious perch high on the scaffolding.
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