Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
PERCH
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English perche, from Anglo-French, from Latin pertica pole
Date: 14th century
a bar or peg on which something is hung,
2. a roost for a bird, a resting place or vantage point ; seat , a prominent position , rod 2,
II. verb
Date: 14th century
intransitive verb to alight, settle, or rest on a perch, a height, or a precarious spot, transitive verb to place on a perch, a height, or a precarious spot,
III. noun (plural perch or perches)
Etymology: Middle English perche, from Anglo-French, from Latin perca, from Greek perkē; akin to Old High German faro colored, Latin porcus, a spiny fish
Date: 14th century
1. a small European freshwater bony fish ( Perca fluviatilis of the family Percidae, the perch family), yellow perch , any of numerous bony fishes (as of the families Percidae, Centrarchidae, and Serranidae)