seed pearl

American  

noun

1. a pearl weighing less than ¼ grain.

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seed pearl British  

noun

1. a tiny pearl weighing less than a quarter of a grain

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Etymology

Origin of seed pearl

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seed pearl

They found here a long slip of the finest sables, eight ells in length and an ell broad, adorned at regular distances with strings of pearls and small tufts of seed pearl, regularly placed.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 05 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

Each bivalve is a lottery ticket; it may contain a gem worthy of place in a monarch's crown, or be a seed pearl with a mercantile value of only a few rupees.

From East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Penfield, Frederic Courtland

She fondled a slender seed pearl rope at her throat.

From Out of the Ashes by Mumford, Ethel Watts

Spangle kept in place by a stitch through a seed pearl.

From English Embroidered Bookbindings by Pollard, Alfred W. (Alfred William)

The first seven oysters I examined, contained nothing but seed pearl, and not many of these.

From Afloat and Ashore A Sea Tale by Cooper, James Fenimore