pearlin 
thread. It also seeing to have meant ' fun- liin-u 
or cambric.' /. Kaillir. [Scotch. ] 
" What will you leave to your mother dew/" . . . 
" My velvet pall, and my pearlin gear." 
The Cruel llnttier (Child's Ballads, II. 261). 
He '8 awu to buy pearling*, 
Ciii our lady ly In. 
Lambert UiUcin (Child's Halladi, III 102). 
pearliness (piVli-nes), H. The state of being 
pearly. 
pearling' (pcr'ling), n. [Verbal n. of pearl, r. \ 
1. The operation of taking off the hull or peri- 
carp of grain; the decortication of grain, as in 
preparing pearl-barley. 2. The act or i in I us 
try of fishing for pearls; pearl-fishing. 3. In 
intaglio-engraving, glass-cutting, and the like, 
the producing of incised ornaments resembling 
half-balls or other rounded forms. 
pearling-, . See pearlin. 
pearling-mill (per'Ung-inil), n. A machine for 
pearling barley, preparing hominy, etc. The 
Pcarling-raill. 
The two figures are vertical sections at right angles to each other. 
a, hopper; o, shoe : c, chute : rf. screw-conveyer ; t, cylinder : /. shaft, 
rotating in r and carrying the heaters or arms f,' A. opening, for dis- 
charge of grain from cylinder;/ ,-, chute: /.revolving screen; *, fan- 
blower which forces an air-blast through the chute i to remove dust. 
operation consists essentially in beating and 
fanning to separate the particles of hulls from 
the product. 
pearl-lashing (perl 'lash 'ing), n. Ifaut., the 
lashing which holds the jaws of the gaff. 
pearl-mica (perl'mi'M), n. Same as marga- 
rite, 2. 
pearl-mOSB (perl'm&s), n. Same as carrageen. 
pearl-moth (perl'm6th), . A pyralid moth of 
pearly appearance, as species of Botys or Mar- 
garitin. 
pearl-mussel (perl'mus'l), n. A pearl-bearing 
bivalve mollusk of the family Unionidee, as Vnin 
or Afargaritana. See cut under Unio. 
pearl-nautilus (perl'nft'ti-lus), n. The pearly 
nautilus (which see, under naiitilits): distin- 
guished from paper-nautilus. 
pearl-opal (perl 6'pal), n. Same as caeholong. 
pear-louse (par'lous)i n. The flea-louse or jump- 
ing plant-louse of the pear, Psyllanyri, an in- 
sect which infests the buds in Europe and 
America. See cut under Psylla. 
pearl-oyster (perl'ois'ter), n. A pearl-bear- 
ing bivalve mollusk of the family Aviculitlte, 
as Mdeagrina margaritifera of Indian seas, and 
other species. See cut under Mi'le/ii/rhiu. 
pearl-plant (perl'plant), . The gromwell and 
corn-gromwell, Litkospermuiii officinale and /.. 
am n* : so culled on account of their hard 
shining nutlets. 
pearl-powder (perl'pou'der), n. 1. A cos- 
metic intended to give the appearance of a fair 
skin. 
The simple young fellow, surveying the ballet from his 
stall ;il tin M]MT:I. mist. Nik earmliie for blushes, pearl 
putrdrr for native snows. 
Thackeray, Adventures of Philip, Iv. 
2. A powder used as a flux in enameling, usu- 
ally one of the Halts of bismuth. 
pearl-purl (perl'perl), . A cord used in em- 
limidery. usually of gold or gold-covered, re- 
sembling a small string of beads. It is used 
like passing, sewed to the foundation. 
pearl-sago (perl'sa'go), n. Sago in the state 
of fine hard grai MS about t he size of small pearls, 
which they somewhat resemble. 
pearl-shell (perl'shel), n. A shell covered with 
it nacreous coating. r with mother-of-pearl. 
pearl-side, pearl-sides (perl'sid, -sidz), n. A 
fish, the Hheppey argentine, MMMvMem peit- 
nanti, having pearly spots on the sides. 
pearl-sinter (perl'sm'ter), n. Same BB_/fn7c. 
pearl-skipper (prl'skip'er),n. A British hes- 
perian butterfly, I'amphila comma. 
pearl-spar (perl'spar), . A variety of dolo- 
mite : so called because of its pearly luster. 
pearl-stitch (perl'stich), n. Same as pearl, 13. 
pearlstone (pferl'ston), M. Same as perlite. 
pearl-tea (p*rl'te), . Same as gunpoiciltr tea 
(which see, under gunpowder). 
pearl-tie (perl'ti), n. In lace-making, a bride 
or bar, more especially when decorated with 
picots. 
pearl-tumor (ptrl'tu'mor), n. 1. A soft white 
spheroidal mass of flat e'pithelioid cells of silky 
luster sometimes developing in the pia mater, 
and more rarely within the brain. 2. A some- 
what similar growth found in the middle ear. 
Also called cholesteatoma, pearly tumor, and se- 
baceous tumor. 3. A tuberculous nodule in 
cattle. 
pearlweed (perl'wed), n. Same as pearlicort. 
pearl-white (perl'hwit), n. 1. A substance 
prepared from the scales of the bleak, Albumus 
lucidus, and of various cyprinoid and clupeoid 
fishes, used in making artificial pearls and for 
other purposes. See imitation pearttt, under 
pearl, and oriental-pearl essence, under essence. 
2. A cosmetic of various composition, usual- 
ly a basic nitrate of bismuth. 
pearl-winning (perl'win'ing), n. Pearl-fishing. 
pearlwort (perl wert), n. Any plant of the 
genus Sagina, which consists of small matted or 
tufted herbs of both hemispheres, with thread- 
like or awl-shaped leaves, and minute flowers. 
These plants were once regarded as a remedy for 
the eye-disease called pearl. Also pearliceed. 
pearly (per'li), a. [< pearl + -yi.] 1. Re- 
sembling a pearl in size, shape, texture, or 
color; pearlaceous. 
Tis sweet tbe blushing morn to view, 
And plains adorn 'd with pearly dew. Dryden. 
2. Resembling mother-of-pearl; nacreous; mar- 
garitaceous. 3. Producing, containing, or 
abounding in pearls; margaritiferous ; pearl- 
bearing. 4. Dotted, flecked, or spangled as if 
with pearls; pearled. 6. Clear; pure; glit- 
tering; translucent or transparent, as a color: 
as, pearly white. 6. In the technique of the 
pianoforte, noting a touch that produces a clear, 
round, sweet tone, or noting a tone thus char- 
acterized. pearly ark, a bivalve of the family Xueu- 
Kdte; a nuUbell. Pearly bodies. Same as epithelial 
pearlt (which see. under pearl). Pearly gaper, a bivalve 
of the family PMaaamyida. Pearly nautilus. See 
navtihu. Pearly tubercle, In pathnl., same itffrutum. 
Pearly tumor. Same as pearl-tumor, 2. 
pearmain (par'man), n. [Early mod. E. also 
pearemaine (simulating pear 1 ); earlier permain, 
i. ME. permayn, permati, also in comp. parnitnt-, 
< OF. permain, parmain, permein, pormain, a 
kind of pear; "poire de permain, the permain 
pear"; of. "poire d main, a kind of great pear, 
which weighs almost a pound" (Cotgrave); ap- 
par. < L. permagnus, very large, neut. permag- 
num, a very large thing, < per-, very, + magnus, 
great, large: see per- and main' 2 .] A name of 
several excellent varieties of apple. 
The ptan-maine, which to France long ere to us was 
knowne. Draytan, Folyolblon, xvili. 075. 
pearmonger (par'mung'ger), n. A dealer in 
pears. 
Pert as a pear-monger I'd be 
If Molly were but kind. 
day, New Song of New Similes. 
pea-roe (pe'ro). n. Same as pea-spawn. 
pearse't, r. An obsolete form of pierce. 
pearse'-'t, >'. ' An obsolete form of jxzrxe 1 . 
pear serf, n. An obsolete form of piercer. 
pearse-treet, An obsolete form of peach- 
tree. Miiislicu. 
pear-shaped (par'shapt), a. Shaped like a pear; 
pointed or peaked above and ovate beneath; 
specifically, in hot., obovoid or obconical with 
more tapering base; pyriform Pear-shaped 
helmet, a form of morion wi'thout a comb, and having 
the crown or body nearly conical but with a curved out- 
line. See r.nH/>.r<(fi, irtoriimt, and caba&et. 
peasantry 
pear-shell (pir'shcl), . A shell of the gcnii.- 
I'yriiln <ir family 1'i/riiliila- : a tig-shell. 
pear-slug (par'slug), . The slimy larva of 
.Sc/a/idria certixi, a saw-fly of the family Teulhrr- 
iliiuilir, which lays its eggs in the leaves of the 
pear and cherry. 
peart (pert), . [A dial, form otfierfl.] Lively; 
smart; chipper; feeling well; in good spirits. 
[Obsolete or prov. Kng. and U. S.J 
Qodinrtte, a pretty peart uusc, a loving or lovely girl. 
i ../ ,,.,,, 
Give your play-gull a stoole, and my lady her foole, 
And her usher potatoes anil marrow ; 
But your poet wen he dead, set a pot on his head, 
And he rite* aa Mart at a sparrow. 
Brtt. KM., U. 17. (UaUitrrU.) 
Quick she had always been, and peart (as we say on r i 
moor), and gifted with a leap of thought too swift for mo 
to follow. R. D. Blaclmore, Loroa Uoone, ilv 
peartly (pert'li), atlr. In a peart manner. 
Then, aa a nimble so,ulrrlll from the wood, 
Ranging the hedgea for his fllberd food, 
Hits peorUy on a bough his brvwne nuts cracking. 
W. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, p. 136. (HaUiireU.) 
pear-tree (pSr'trS), n. [< ME. peretree (= 8w. 
parontrdd = 'D&n.paretrte); <pear + tree.] The 
tree that produces the pear. 
The peretree plannte Is aette in places cold 
Atte (feveryere, and there as is a warmer ayer 
In Novemb'r. 
Palladia*, Uusbondrie (E. E. T. S.X p. 86. 
pear-withe (par' with), n. A shrubby climbing 
plant, TH minii in Jarooa, natural order Bignoni- 
acete, of tropical South America, having a fruit 
like a calabash, but smaller. 
peasant (pez'ant), ti. and a. [Early mod. E. 
blsopesant, < 'ME. pesant, peysan, < OF. pai- 
sant, paissant, prop, poison, F. payitan = Sp. 
paisano = It. paesano; with sumx -<in, < OF. 
pais, pays, F. pays = Pr. paes, pats, pays = 
Sp. pais = It. paese, country, < ML. 'pageiute, 
neut. of pagensis, < pagus, a district : see pa- 
gan.] I. n. A person of inferior rank or con- 
dition living in the country or in a rural vil- 
lage, and usually engaged in agricultural la- 
bor; a rustic; a countryman. A peaaant may or 
may not be the proprietor of the land which he culti- 
vates ; In Great Britain he is distinguished from * farmer 
as having leas property, education, or culture, or Inferior 
aoclal position : but the word U very vague. The French 
peasant (pai/san) and the tier-man peasant (bauer) were 
until recently greatly restricted in their civil ami political 
righta. The word la not uaed In the tutted States, where 
there is no comparatively stable body of agricultural la- 
borers corresponding to the. European peasantry. 
And the nexte mornynge whane they wente on londe they 
herde of the peytant and suche as they mette that alle tore 
Oaleys were rejecte and recoyled bakke by the sayde tem- 
pest. Sir K. 6uy(forde, Pylgrymage, p. 64. 
I had rather coin my heart, 
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands at peatanft their vile trash 
By any Indirection. Shat , J. f., Iv. 3. 74. 
He [Hernand Teillo] caused forty or fifty souldlen to be 
attired like pennant*, with fardels upon their heads and 
shoulders. Carrot, Crudities, I. Jl. 
The jxamnU fiock'd to hear the minstrel play, 
And games and carols closed the busy day. 
foyer*, Pleasures of Memory, i. 
Peasant jewelry, Jewelry of the simple and traditional 
character worn by the peasantry in some parts of Europe, 
usually of thin gold and set with Inexpensive atones, aa 
garneta, rough pearls, and the like. This Jewelry Is often 
spirited and truly decorative In design, and has been much 
studied and collected of late years. Peasant pottery, 
pottery of simple make and decoration produced among 
the peasantry of any country for their own use. That of 
central Italy has attracted great attention, and the pottery 
of South America and also of Mexico is of this character. 
Peasant proprietary, a body of peasant proprietors, or 
that economic or land theory which favors the parceling 
out of the land among peaaant proprietors. Peasant 
proprietor, a peasant who owns a small fann and works 
it himself. Peasant waist, a particular kind of waist or 
body to a dress, made after the fashion of some iwasants' 
costume, especially the Swiss. Peasants' war, in Her- 
man kuL, a rebellion which broke out In 1524, chiefly 
among the peasants and in southern Germany. It waa 
characterized by great atrocities on both aides, and was 
suppressed in 1525. 
II. a. Of or pertaining to, or characteristic 
of, peasants ; rustic ; rural : often used as an 
epithet of reproach. 
Their jwtunnt limbs. Shot. , Hen. V., IT. 7. 80. 
O, what a rogue and peanant slave am I ! 
Shale., Hamlet, ii. i 578. 
peasantly (pez'ant-li), a. [< peasant + -ly 1 .] 
Pertaining to or characteristic of peasants; of 
a peasant ; peasant-like. 
Cateret: m. A faggot made of great sticks or cloven 
wood ; also, a kind of peatantly weapon, used In old time. 
Cotffrare. 
He Is not eateem'd to deserve the name of a compleat 
Architect, an excellent Painter, or the like, that bearea not 
a generous mind, above the peamntly regard of wage* and 
hire. MOtan, On Def. of Humb. Remooat. 
peasantry (pez'ant-ri), . [< peasant + -rjf.] 
1. Peasants collectively; a body of peasants. 
