🇫🇷French Source WordCode: FR

pêche aux perles

Pronunciation / Transliteration: pɛʃ o pɛrl

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Pearl-diving/ˈpɜːlˌdaɪ.vɪŋ/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #14500 frequency
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🇫🇷 Example Sentence in French:

"La pêche aux perles était une activité très dangereuse."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The dangerous traditional occupation or activity of diving into the sea to gather pearl-bearing oysters or mollusks.

    "Generations of coastal families relied on pearl-diving as their primary source of livelihood."
  2. 2

    The sport or recreational activity of diving to search for pearls.

    "Commercial pearl-diving has largely been replaced by cultured pearl farming, though some enthusiasts practice it recreationally."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the combination of 'pearl' (from Middle English perle, ultimately from Latin pirula) and 'diving' (from Old English dyfan). Historically denoting the dangerous manual occupation of descending deep into coastal waters to harvest pearl oysters, it has been practiced in regions like the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean for millennia.

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