perch

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See also: Perch

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Ancient Greek πέρκη (pérkē, “perch”), cognate with περκνός (perknós, “dark-spotted”).

Noun[edit]

yellow perch (Perca flavescens)

perch (plural perches or perch)

  1. Any of the three species of spiny-finned freshwater fish in the genus Perca.
  2. Any of the about 200 related species of fish in the taxonomic family Percidae, especially:
    1. (South Africa) Acanthopagrus berda
    2. (Ghana) Distichodus engycephalus, Distichodus rostratus
    3. (Australia) Johnius belangerii, Macquaria ambigua, Macquaria colonorum, Macquaria novemaculeata, Nemadactylus macropterus
    4. (US) Kyphosus azureus
    5. (UK) Lateolabrax japonicus, Tautogolabrus adspersus
  3. Several similar species in the order Perciformes, such as the grouper.
Hyponyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin pertica (“staff”, “long pole”, “measuring rod”).

Noun[edit]

perch (plural perches or perch)

  1. A rod, staff, tree branch, ledge, etc., used as a roost by a bird.
    • 1874, Alfred Tennyson, “Dedication”, in Idylls of the King (The Works of Alfred Tennyson; V), cabinet edition, London: Henry S. King & Co., […], →OCLC, page 8:
      We know him now: […] / Not making his high place the lawless perch / Of wing'd ambitions, nor a vantage-ground / For pleasure; […]
  2. A pole connecting the fore gear and hind gear of a spring carriage; a reach.
  3. (figuratively) A position that is secure and advantageous, especially one which is prominent or elevated.
    • 2019 August 14, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club‎[1], archived from the original on 4 March 2021:
      Last year, Eighth Grade found poignancy and humor in its eponymous time period: that purgatorial perch between childhood and adulthood.
    • 2022 August 1, Off the Leash, Darwin, NT, page 12, column 1:
      [W]inning Wimbledon at just 19 years, earning her rightful place on the perch as world number one.
  4. (figuratively) A position that is overly elevated or haughty.
  5. (dated) A linear measure of 5+1⁄2 yards, equal to a rod, a pole or 1⁄4 chain; the related square measure.
  6. A cubic measure of stonework equal to 16.6 × 1.5 × 1 feet.
  7. (textiles) A frame used to examine cloth.
  8. A bar used to support a candle, especially in a church.
  9. (theater) A platform for lights to be directed at the stage.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

perch (third-person singular simple present perches, present participle perching, simple past and past participle perched)

  1. (intransitive) To rest on a perch (especially, of a bird); to roost.
    The macaw perched on Jim's shoulder.
  2. (intransitive) To sit upon the edge of something.
  3. (intransitive) To stay in an elevated position.
  4. (transitive) To place something on (or as if on) a perch.
    • 2012 September 7, Dominic Fifield, “England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova”, in The Guardian‎[2]:
      The most obvious beneficiary of the visitors' superiority was Frank Lampard. By the end of the night he was perched 13th in the list of England's most prolific goalscorers, having leapfrogged Sir Geoff Hurst to score his 24th and 25th international goals. No other player has managed more than the Chelsea midfielder's 11 in World Cup qualification ties, with this a display to roll back the years.
  5. (transitive, intransitive, textiles) To inspect cloth using a perch.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

perch

  1. Alternative form of perche (“pole”)
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