Perch Meaning
/pɜːtʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny of the three species of spiny-finned freshwater fish in the genus Perca.
nounAny of the about 200 related species of fish in the taxonomic family Percidae, especially:, Acanthopagrus berda
Sentence Examples
The birds use the scarecrow as a perch.
The sparrow landed on the perch of the bird feeder.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A small sparrow may ____ on a thin wire for a moment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bird settled on its ____ inside the cage and began to sing a cheerful morning melody.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *perḱ-der. Ancient Greek πέρκη (pérkē)der. Latin percader. Old French perchebor. Middle English perche English perch From Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Ancient Greek πέρκη (pérkē, “perch”), cognate with περκνός (perknós, “dark-spotted”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ-, whence also Old English forn (“trout”), German Forelle (“trout”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We know him now: […] / Not making his high place the lawless perch / Of wing'd ambitions, nor a vantage-ground / For pleasure; […]"
— 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:
"Last year, Eighth Grade found poignancy and humor in its eponymous time period: that purgatorial perch between childhood and adulthood."
— 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, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2021:
"[W]inning Wimbledon at just 19 years, earning her rightful place on the perch as world number one."
— 2022 August 1, Off the Leash, Darwin, NT, page 12, column 1:
"You may thanke me, (Lady) / I haue taken you off your mellancholly pearch, / Boare you vpon my fiſt, and ſhew'd you game, / And let you flie at it: I pray the kiſſe me, […]"
— 1612–1613 (date written), John Webster, The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy. […], London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1623, →OCLC, Act II, scene iv:
"The whole surface of the country is divided into irregular patches, following the undulations of the ground, from many acres to a few perches in extent, each of which is itself perfectly level, but stands a few inches or several feet above or below those adjacent to it."
— 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 236:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A small sparrow may ____ on a thin wire for a moment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bird settled on its ____ inside the cage and began to sing a cheerful morning melody.