Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

English

Etymology

Calque of Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”). The extended senses allude to the surprise attack executed by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the harbor on December 7, 1941.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌpɝ˞l ˈhɑɹbɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɜːl ˈhɑːbə/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Proper noun

Pearl Harbor

1. A deep water harbor on Oahu, Hawaii.
2. A US Navy base at the harbor.
3. The attack on Pearl Harbor.

   Pearl Harbor happened in 1941 and was the direct cause of the United States' entry into World War II.

Translations

a harbor on Oahu

Arabic: بِيرْل هَارْبَر‎ m (birl harbar) Belarusian: Перл-Ха́рбар m (Pjerl-Xárbar) Bulgarian: Пърл Ха́рбър m (Pǎrl Hárbǎr) Chinese: Mandarin: 珍珠港 (zh) (Zhēnzhūgǎng) Dutch: Pearl Harbor Finnish: Pearl Harbor German: Pearl Harbor (de) n Greek: Περλ Χάρμπορ (Perl Chármpor) Hawaiian: Wai Nomi Hebrew: פרל הארבור‎ Hindi: पर्ल हार्बर (parl hārbar) Icelandic: Perluhöfn f Japanese: 真珠湾 (しんじゅわん, Shinjuwan), パールハーバー (Pāru Hābā) Korean: 진주만(珍珠灣) (Jinjuman), 펄 하버 (Peol Habeo) Macedonian: Перл Харбор m (Perl Harbor) Marathi: पर्ल हार्बर (parla hārbar) Persian: پرل هاربر‎ (perl hârbor) Polish: Pearl Harbor m Portuguese: Pearl Harbor f Russian: Пёрл-Ха́рбор m (Pjórl-Xárbor), Перл-Ха́рбор m (Perl-Xárbor), Перл-Ха́рбор m (Perl-Xárbor) Rusyn: Перл Га́рбор m (Perl Hárbor) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: Перл Харбор m Latin: Pearl Harbor (sh) m, Perl Harbor m Slovene: Pearl Harbor m Thai: ท่าเรือเพิร์ล (tâa reua pern) Ukrainian: Перл-Ха́рбор m (Perl-Xárbor)

Noun

Pearl Harbor (plural Pearl Harbors)

1. A sneak attack, often using underhanded measures.
   • 2002, Richard F. Hill, Hitler Attacks Pearl Harbor: Why the United States Declared War on Germany, page 85

     Most Americans wanted no more Pearl Harbors, but they now expected Germany to attempt one.

2. A seminal dramatic event that unites a community and arouses it into action against an enemy.
   • 2012 July 6, Milton Clary (interviewee), Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (author), “Drone Hijacking? That’s Just the Start of GPS Troubles” , Wired

     “We certainly don’t want a GPS Pearl Harbor, but probably it’s gonna take a GPS Mogadishu to get people’s attention.”

Verb

Pearl Harbor (third-person singular simple present Pearl Harbors, present participle Pearl Harboring, simple past and past participle Pearl Harbored)

1. (often passive, slang) To attack by surprise; to subject to a sneak attack.
   • 2000, James P. Sterba, Earth Ethics: Introductory Readings on Animal Rights, page 345:

     The first and second ships had been successfully Pearl Harbored. The third was not to be surprised. As we approached, she dropped her net and fled. We pursued.

   • 2013, Heiner Timmermann, The Future a Memory: The Cold War and Intelligence, page 127:

     Pearl Harbor had seared itself into the American consciousness, but even at the times of greatest tension American Presidents never believed that they were about to be Pearl Harbored again.

2. (often passive, slang, rare) To take rudely by surprise.
   • 2015, Halloween Shrieks, →ISBN, page 107:

     If I had quit two houses sooner than I did all would have been well but since I didn't, I got Pearl Harbored by some big kid dressed up in a Ben Cooper Howdy Doody plastic outfit and a goofily grinning mask […]

   • 2001, Arthur C. Clarke, quoted in Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students (2004, →ISBN, page 143:

     Of course, with the Soviets' launch of Sputnik, the Americans had been Pearl Harbored in space.

---

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Pearl Harbor, calqued from Hawaiian Wai Nomi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛr(l) ˈxar.bɔr/
• Rhymes: -arbɔr

Proper noun

Pearl Harbor m inan (indeclinable)

1. Pearl Harbor (a harbour and naval base in Hawaii, United States)
2. (rare) the attack on Pearl Harbor

Further reading

• Pearl Harbor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• Pearl Harbor in Polish dictionaries at PWN

---

Portuguese

Etymology

From English Pearl Harbor, calqued from Hawaiian Wai Nomi.

Proper noun

Pearl Harbor f

1. Pearl Harbor (a harbour and naval base in Hawaii, United States)

---

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• Perl Harbor

Etymology

English Pearl Harbor, calqued from Hawaiian Wai Nomi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pêrl̩ xǎrbor/

Noun

Pearl Harbor m

1. (Bosnia, Croatia) Pearl Harbor (a harbour and naval base in Hawaii, United States)

References

• “Pearl Harbor” in Hrvatski jezični portal

---

Slovene

Etymology

English Pearl Harbor, calqued from Hawaiian Wai Nomi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛ́ːrl xáːrbɔr/

Noun

Pȇarl Hȃrbor m inan

1. Pearl Harbor (a harbour and naval base in Hawaii, United States)