Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Stitch \Stitch\, n. [OE. stiche, AS. stice a pricking, akin to
   stician to prick. See {Stick}, v. i.]
   1. A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of
      the thread thus made.

   2. A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a
      link, or loop, of yarn; as, to let down, or drop, a
      stitch; to take up a stitch.

   3. [Cf. OE. sticche, stecche, stucche, a piece, AS. stycce.
      Cf. {Stock}.] A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a
      single pass of the needle; hence, by extension, any space
      passed over; distance.

            You have gone a good stitch.          --Bunyan.

            In Syria the husbandmen go lightly over with their
            plow, and take no deep stitch in making their
            furrows.                              --Holland.

   4. A local sharp pain; an acute pain, like the piercing of a
      needle; as, a stitch in the side.

            He was taken with a cold and with stitches, which
            was, indeed, a pleurisy.              --Bp. Burnet.

   5. A contortion, or twist. [Obs.]

            If you talk, Or pull your face into a stitch again,
            I shall be angry.                     --Marston.

   6. Any least part of a fabric or dress; as, to wet every
      stitch of clothes. [Colloq.]

   7. A furrow. --Chapman.

   {Chain stitch}, {Lock stitch}. See in the Vocabulary.

   {Pearl}, or {Purl stitch}. See 2nd {Purl}, 2.

Pearl \Pearl\, n.
   A fringe or border. [Obs.] -- v. t. To fringe; to border.
   [Obs.] See {Purl}.

   {Pearl stitch}. See {Purl stitch}, under {Purl}.

Pearl \Pearl\, n. [OE. perle, F. perle, LL. perla, perula,
   probably fr. (assumed) L. pirulo, dim. of L. pirum a pear.
   See {Pear}, and cf. {Purl} to mantle.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and
      having a brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in
      the mantle, or between the mantle and shell, of certain
      bivalve mollusks, especially in the pearl oysters and
      river mussels, and sometimes in certain univalves. It is
      usually due to a secretion of shelly substance around some
      irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as
      nacre, or mother-of-pearl. Pearls which are round, or
      nearly round, and of fine luster, are highly esteemed as
      jewels, and compare in value with the precious stones.

   2. Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl;
      something very precious.

            I see thee compassed with thy kingdom's pearl.
                                                  --Shak.

            And those pearls of dew she wears.    --Milton.

   3. Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.

   4. (Zo["o]l.) A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.

   5. (Zo["o]l.) A light-colored tern.

   6. (Zo["o]l.) One of the circle of tubercles which form the
      bur on a deer's antler.

   7. A whitish speck or film on the eye. [Obs.] --Milton.

   8. A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing some
      liquid for medicinal application, as ether.

   9. (Print.) A size of type, between agate and diamond. [hand]
      This line is printed in the type called pearl.

   {Ground pearl}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Ground}.

   {Pearl barley}, kernels of barley, ground so as to form
      small, round grains.

   {Pearl diver}, one who dives for pearl oysters.

   {Pearl edge}, an edge of small loops on the side of some
      kinds of ribbon; also, a narrow kind of thread edging to
      be sewed on lace.

   {Pearl eye}, cataract. [R.]

   {Pearl gray}, a very pale and delicate blue-gray color.

   {Pearl millet}, Egyptian millet ({Penicillaria spicata}).

   {Pearl moss}. See {Carrageen}.

   {Pearl moth} (Zo["o]l.), any moth of the genus {Margaritia};
      -- so called on account of its pearly color.

   {Pearl oyster} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of
      large tropical marine bivalve mollusks of the genus
      {Meleagrina}, or {Margaritifera}, found in the East Indies
      (especially at Ceylon), in the Persian Gulf, on the coast
      of Australia, and on the Pacific coast of America. Called
      also {pearl shell}, and {pearl mussel}.

   {Pearl powder}. See {Pearl white}, below.

   {Pearl sago}, sago in the form of small pearly grains.

   {Pearl sinter} (Min.), fiorite.

   {Pearl spar} (Min.), a crystallized variety of dolomite,
      having a pearly luster.

   {Pearl white}.
      (a) Basic bismuth nitrate, or bismuth subchloride; -- used
          chiefly as a cosmetic.
      (b) A variety of white lead blued with indigo or Berlin
          blue.

Pearl \Pearl\, a.
   Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of
   mother-of-pearl.

Pearl \Pearl\, v. t.
   1. To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used
      also figuratively.

   2. To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round
      grains; as, to pearl barley.

Pearl \Pearl\, v. i.
   1. To resemble pearl or pearls.

   2. To give or hunt for pearls; as, to go pearling.

Source : WordNet®

pearl
     n 1: a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam
          or oyster; much valued as a jewel
     2: a shade of white the color of bleached bones [syn: {bone}, {ivory},
         {off-white}]
     3: a shape that is small and round; "he studied the shapes of
        low-viscosity drops"; "beads of sweat on his forehead"
        [syn: {drop}, {bead}]

pearl
     v : gather pearls, from oysters in the ocean

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

PEARL
     
        1.  A language for {constructive
        mathematics} developed by Constable at {Cornell University} in
        the 1980s.
     
        2.  {Process and Experiment Automation
        Real-Time Language}.
     
        3.  One of five pedagogical languages
        based on {Markov} {algorithms}, used in "Nonpareil, a Machine
        Level Machine Independent Language for the Study of
        Semantics", B. Higman, ULICS Intl Report No ICSI 170, U London
        (1968).  Compare {Brilliant}, {Diamond}, {Nonpareil}, {Ruby}.
     
        4.  A multilevel language developed by Brian Randell
        ca 1970 and mentioned in "Machine Oriented Higher Level
        Languages", W. van der Poel, N-H 1974.
     
        5.  An obsolete term for {Larry
        Wall}'s {PERL} programming language, which never fell into
        common usage other than in typographical errors.  The missing
        'a' remains as an atrophied remnant in the expansion
        "Practical Extraction and Report Language".
     
        ["Programming Perl", Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz,
        O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.  Sebastopol, CA.  ISBN
        0-93715-64-1].
     
        (2000-08-16)