perch

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
perch
    n 1: support consisting of a branch or rod that serves as a
         resting place (especially for a bird)
    2: a linear measure of 16.5 feet [syn: {perch}, {rod}, {pole}]
    3: a square rod of land [syn: {perch}, {rod}, {pole}]
    4: an elevated place serving as a seat
    5: any of numerous fishes of America and Europe
    6: spiny-finned freshwater food and game fishes
    7: any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of various families of
       the order Perciformes
    v 1: sit, as on a branch; "The birds perched high in the tree"
         [syn: {perch}, {roost}, {rest}]
    2: to come to rest, settle; "Misfortune lighted upon him" [syn:
       {alight}, {light}, {perch}]
    3: cause to perch or sit; "She perched her hat on her head"
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
perch \perch\ (p[~e]rch), n. [Written also {pearch}.] [OE.
   perche, F. perche, L. perca, fr. Gr. pe`rkh; cf. perkno`s
   dark-colored, Skr. p[.r][,c]ni spotted, speckled, and E.
   freckle.] (Zool.)
   1. Any fresh-water fish of the genus {Perca} and of several
      other allied genera of the family {Percid[ae]}, as the
      common American or yellow perch ({Perca flavescens} syn.
      {Perca Americana}), and the European perch ({Perca
      fluviatilis}).
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Any one of numerous species of spiny-finned fishes
      belonging to the {Percid[ae]}, {Serranid[ae]}, and related
      families, and resembling, more or less, the true perches.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Black perch}.
      (a) The black bass.
      (b) The flasher.
      (c) The sea bass.

   {Blue perch}, the cunner.

   {Gray perch}, the fresh-water drum.

   {Red perch}, the rosefish.

   {Red-bellied perch}, the long-eared pondfish.

   {Perch pest}, a small crustacean, parasitic in the mouth of
      the perch.

   {Silver perch}, the yellowtail.

   {Stone perch}, or {Striped perch}, the pope.

   {White perch}, the {Roccus Americanus}, or {Morone
      Americanus}, a small silvery serranoid market fish of the
      Atlantic coast.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Perch \Perch\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Perched} (p[~e]rcht); p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Perching}.] [F. percher. See {Perch} a pole.]
   To alight or settle, as a bird; to sit or roost.
   [1913 Webster]

         Wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Perch \Perch\, v. t.
   1. To place or to set on, or as on, a perch.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To occupy as a perch. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Perch \Perch\ (p[~e]rch), n. [F. perche, L. pertica.]
   1. A pole; a long staff; a rod; esp., a pole or other support
      for fowls to roost on or to rest on; a roost;
      figuratively, any elevated resting place or seat.
      [1913 Webster]

            As chauntecleer among his wives all
            Sat on his perche, that was in his hall. --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            Not making his high place the lawless perch
            Of winged ambitions.                  --Tennyson.
      [1913 Webster]

   2.
      (a) A measure of length containing five and a half yards;
          a rod, or pole.
      (b) In land or square measure: A square rod; the 160th
          part of an acre.
      (c) In solid measure: A mass 161/2 feet long, 1 foot in
          height, and 11/2 feet in breadth, or 243/4 cubic feet
          (in local use, from 22 to 25 cubic feet); -- used in
          measuring stonework.
          [1913 Webster]

   3. A pole connecting the fore gear and hind gear of a spring
      carriage; a reach.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sprat \Sprat\ (spr[a^]t), n. [OE. sprot, sprotte, D. sprot; akin
   to G. sprotte.] (Zool.)
   (a) A small European herring ({Clupea sprattus}) closely
       allied to the common herring and the pilchard; -- called
       also {garvie}. The name is also applied to small herring
       of different kinds.
   (b) A California surf-fish ({Rhacochilus toxotes}); -- called
       also {alfione}, and {perch}.
       [1913 Webster]

   {Sprat borer} (Zool.), the red-throated diver; -- so called
      from its fondness for sprats. See {Diver}.

   {Sprat loon}. (Zool.)
   (a) The young of the great northern diver. [Prov. Eng.]
   (b) The red-throated diver. See {Diver}.

   {Sprat mew} (Zool.), the kittiwake gull.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Rod \Rod\, n. [The same word as rood. See {Rood}.]
   1. A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender
      bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes).
      Specifically:
      (a) An instrument of punishment or correction;
          figuratively, chastisement.
          [1913 Webster]

                He that spareth his rod hateth his son. --Prov.
                                                  xiii. 24.
          [1913 Webster]
      (b) A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence,
          figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression.
          "The rod, and bird of peace." --Shak.
      (c) A support for a fishing line; a fish pole. --Gay.
      (d) (Mach. & Structure) A member used in tension, as for
          sustaining a suspended weight, or in tension and
          compression, as for transmitting reciprocating motion,
          etc.; a connecting bar.
      (e) An instrument for measuring.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. A measure of length containing sixteen and a half feet; --
      called also {perch}, and {pole}.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Black rod}. See in the Vocabulary.

   {Rods and cones} (Anat.), the elongated cells or elements of
      the sensory layer of the retina, some of which are
      cylindrical, others somewhat conical.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
PERCH, measure. The length of sixteen feet and a half: a pole or rod of that 
length. Forty perches in length and four in breadth make an acre of land. 
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
113 Moby Thesaurus words for "perch":
      abide, abut on, alight, anchor, aviary, be based on, be seated,
      bear on, berth, bestraddle, bestride, billet at, bird cage,
      birdhouse, bivouac, bunk, burrow, camp, climb down, cohabit,
      colonize, columbary, come to anchor, dismount, domesticate,
      domicile, domiciliate, doss down, dovecote, drop anchor, dwell,
      ensconce, establish residence, foothold, footing, footplate,
      footrail, footrest, get down, get off, hang out, hive, hold,
      inhabit, keep house, land, lean on, lie on, light, live, live at,
      locate, location, locus standi, lodge, moor, move, nest, occupy,
      park, people, perspective, pigeon house, pigeon loft, place,
      populate, position, purchase, put, relocate, rely on, remain,
      remain seated, repose on, reside, rest, rest on, ride, room, roost,
      roosting place, seat, set, set down, set up housekeeping,
      set up shop, settle, settle down, sit, sit down, sit on, site,
      situate, spot, squat, stance, stand, stand on, standing,
      standing place, stay, stay at, straddle, stride, strike root,
      take residence at, take root, take up residence, tenant, toehold,
      touch down, unhorse, vantage point

    

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