pearly

English

Etymology

pearl +‎ -y

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)li

Noun

pearly (countable and uncountable; plural pearlies)

1. (uncountable, rare, 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, UK, especially in plural) tooth

Translations

colour

Japanese: 真珠色 (しんじゅいろ, shinjyuiro)

Adjective

pearly (comparative pearlier, superlative pearliest)

1. Of a pale greyish white colour, tinted with blue.

Derived terms

• pearly nautilus
• pearly everlasting
• Pearly Gates
• pearly king
• pearly penile papules
• pearly queen

See also

• chambered nautilus
• Appendix:Colors

Anagrams

• parley
• player
• replay