perch1

[purch] /pɜrtʃ/
noun
1.
a pole or rod, usually horizontal, serving as a roost for birds.
2.
any place or object, as a sill, fence, branch, or twig, for a bird, animal, or person to alight or rest upon.
3.
a high or elevated position, resting place, or the like.
4.
a small, elevated seat for the driver of any of certain vehicles.
5.
a pole connecting the fore and hind running parts of a spring carriage or other vehicle.
6.
a post set up as a navigational aid on a navigational hazard or on a buoy.
7.
British.
  1. a linear or square rod.
  2. a measure of volume for stone, about 24 cubic feet (0.7 cubic meters).
8.
Textiles. an apparatus consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal roller, used for inspecting cloth after it leaves the loom.
9.
Obsolete. any pole, rod, or the like.
verb (used without object)
10.
to alight or rest upon a perch.
11.
to settle or rest in some elevated position, as if on a perch.
verb (used with object)
12.
to set or place on or as if on a perch.
13.
to inspect (cloth) for defects and blemishes after it has been taken from the loom and placed upon a perch.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English perche < Old French < Latin pertica pole, staff, measuring rod
Related forms
perchable, adjective
unperched, adjective

perch2

[purch] /pɜrtʃ/
noun, plural (especially collectively) perch (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) perches.
1.
any spiny-finned, freshwater food fish of the genus Perca, as P. flavescens (yellow perch) of the U.S., or P. fluviatilis, of Europe.
2.
any of various other related, spiny-finned fishes.
3.
any of several embioticid fishes, as Hysterocarpus traski (tule perch) of California.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English perche < Middle French < Latin perca < Greek pérkē
Examples from the web for perch
  • Now you can perch those high-end headphones onto a curved plywood stand.
  • Most birds declined to touch the new object, but some curious birds did flit to the nearby perch for a closer look.
  • Haynes climbed the spinning, rocking structure to a perilous and precarious perch high on the scaffolding.
  • Song: a high-pitched, wiry to lisping squeaky warble from perch, often prolonged and repeated with pulsating succession.
  • The fish populations of northern pike, yellow perch and walleye are usually high.
  • Current reality does appear to perch humans atop a planetary food chain.
  • They perch on the surfaces of ponds and slow streams as if on solid ground.
  • To forage, it flies off of a perch and grabs insects off of the ground, then flies back to its perch again.
  • Standing on the perch of mastery, it's easy to look back and say what the straight path to expertise is.
  • Skip the snow cave, and check into a stylish winter perch.
British Dictionary definitions for perch

perch1

/pɜːtʃ/
noun
1.
a pole, branch, or other resting place above ground on which a bird roosts or alights
2.
a similar resting place for a person or thing
3.
another name for rod (sense 7)
4.
a solid measure for stone, usually taken as 198 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches
5.
a pole joining the front and rear axles of a carriage
6.
a frame on which cloth is placed for inspection
7.
(obsolete or dialect) a pole
verb
8.
(usually foll by on) to alight, rest, or cause to rest on or as if on a perch: the bird perched on the branch, the cap was perched on his head
9.
(transitive) to inspect (cloth) on a perch
Derived Forms
percher, noun
Word Origin
C13 perche stake, from Old French, from Latin pertica long staff

perch2

/pɜːtʃ/
noun (pl) perch, perches
1.
any freshwater spiny-finned teleost fish of the family Percidae, esp those of the genus Perca, such as P. fluviatilis of Europe and P. flavescens (yellow perch) of North America: valued as food and game fishes
2.
any of various similar or related fishes
related
adjective percoid
Word Origin
C13: from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Greek perkē; compare Greek perkos spotted
Word Origin and History for perch
n.

"where a bird rests," late 13c., originally only "a pole, rod, stick, stake," from Old French perche "unit of linear measurement" (5.5 yards), also "measuring rod, pole, bar" used to measure this length (13c.), from Latin pertica "pole, long staff, measuring rod," related to Oscan perek "pole," Umbrian perkaf "twigs, rods." Meaning "a bar fixed horizontally for a hawk or tame bird to rest on" is attested from late 14c.; this led to general sense of "any thing that any bird alights or rests on" (late 15c.). Figurative sense of "an elevated or secure position" is recorded from 1520s. The "land-measuring rod" sense also was in Middle English (c.1200), hence surviving meaning "measure of land equal to a square lineal perch" (usually 160 to the acre), mid-15c.

"spiny-finned freshwater fish," c.1300, from Old French perche, from Latin perca "perch," from Greek perke "a perch," from PIE root *perk- "speckled, spotted" (cf. Sanskrit prsnih "speckled, variegated;" Greek perknos "dark-colored," perkazein "to become dark"), typically in names of animals.

v.

"to roost," late 14c., from Old French perchier "to sit on a perch" (of a bird), from perche (n.) (see perch (n.1)). Related: Perched; perching.