Webster's English Dictionary

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perch

1. perch \'p*rch\ n [ME perche, fr. OF, fr. L pertica pole] 1: the main 
   shaft connecting the front and rear axles of a coach or other v ehicle 2: a 
   bar or peg on which something is hung  3a: a roost for a bird  3b: a 
   resting place or vantage point : SEAT  3c: EMINENCE  chiefly Brit  4a: ROD  
   4b: any of various units of measure for stonework 
2. perch vt : to place on a perch, a height, or precarious spot {~ed hi 
   mself on the table} to alight, settle, or rest often uneasily or 
   precariously on a perch
3. perch n or perch or perch.es [ME perche, fr. MF, fr. L perca, fr. Gk 
   perke-; akin to OH] pl G faro colored, L porcus, a spiny fish 1a: a small 
   European freshwater spiny-finned fish (Perca fluviatilis)  1b: a closely 
   related American fish (P. flavescens)  2: any of numerous teleost fishes 
   (as of the families Percidae, Centrarchid ae, Serranidae)