drop earring
- noun
- Burmese pearl drop earrings.
- diamond drop earrings
- gold drop earrings
- platinum drop earrings
Examples
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Her outfit was complete with beautiful crystal drop earrings that enhanced her look.
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So I can either go with my little Jennifer Burr like Pearl drop earrings and they have a little pinky, pinky bit like that.
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She wore stunning diamond drop earrings that sparkled in the light.
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For the gala, he chose to accessorize his suit with elegant silver drop earrings.
Synonyms
A small piece of jewelry worn on the ear and attached to the earlobe with a pin or clip
An earring with a small piece that hangs down
A piece of jewellery that hangs from the ear with a small decoration
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an earring designed to hang below the earlobe' is transparently composed from 'drop' (to hang or droop) modifying 'earring' — a clear modifier+noun pattern indicating an earring that hangs or dangles. This construction follows ordinary English compounding and has close cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'dangle/pendant earring'), so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Drop earring may come from the simple image of a small ornament that seems to drop down from the earring and hang like a tiny pendant. Because it hangs below the earlobe and moves, the term now means 'an earring that hangs below the ear'.