pearly

pearly

English

Etymology

pearl +‎ -y

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)li

Noun

pearly (countable and uncountable, plural pearlies)

1. (uncountable, uncommon, dated) A pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.

   pearly colour:  

   • 1830, John Burnet, A practical treatise on painting, page 3:

     In nature we as often find the light cool as warm; also in the pictures of many of the Flemish and Dutch schools, where, as Sir Joshua himself mentions, " the silver gray or pearly is predominant, and are valued by the connoisseurs in proportion as they possess this excellence of a silver tint."

   • 1884, The popular educator‎, page 49:

     Pearly is that silky and often coloured lustre which renders of such value

   • 1899, St. Louis medical and surgical journal‎, page 126:

     When (the scales are) more developed and thickened, the color (pearly) is deepened, shading

2. (countable, Britain, slang, especially in plural) A tooth.

Translations

colour

Chinese: Mandarin: 珍珠色

Japanese: 真珠色 (しんじゅいろ, shinjuiro)

Adjective

pearly (comparative pearlier, superlative pearliest)

1. Of a pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.
2. Resembling or characteristic of a pearl; nacreous.

   a pearly lustre

3. Containing or yielding pearls.
4. Having a pure sweet tone.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• pearliness
• pearly everlasting
• Pearly Gates
• pearly king

• pearly nautilus
• pearly penile papules
• pearly queen
• pearly whites

See also

• chambered nautilus
• Appendix:Colors

Anagrams

• Player, Rapley, parley, player, replay