perch
1
9.9
- noun
- /pɜrʧ/
- Archaic
:
vara
- Each perch of land was equivalent to a specific area, often used in rural property descriptions.
Examples
-
The land was measured by the surveyor in perches, which was common practice in the 18th century.
-
I didn't mean to; it's just that I needed to know what had happened to Mr. Perch, the janitor in the Baltimore church.
Fiction book (1997) -
They find a perch in a third-story window of a student-run mehune overlooking schools of pedestrians on the street below.
Fiction book (1999) -
In historical records, a farmer owned five hundred acres, calculated to be about two thousand perches.
Synonyms
Idioms
- Informal
1
7.9
To defeat the person or team at the top and take their place
Compounds
- US
1
6.6
A small silvery freshwater fish found in streams in eastern North America, often caught for food or sport
- US
1
5.1
A freshwater fish with a yellow body and dark stripes, caught for food and sport
- Indian
A small freshwater fish that can breathe air and move on land using its pointed fins
A fresh water fish with a green body and red fins found in Europe and northern Asia
A small bright fish from the Pacific coast of North America with shiny colorful scales
Surface Forms
Etymology
Perch (unit) comes from the same old word pertica meaning 'pole', because land was once measured with a pole, so a 'perch' became a fixed length or area used in old maps.