The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
perch \perch\ (p[~e]rch), n. [Written also pearch.] [OE.
perche, F. perche, L. perca, fr. Gr. pe`rkh; cf. perkno`s
dark-colored, Skr. p[.r][,c]ni spotted, speckled, and E.
freckle.] (Zool.)
1. Any fresh-water fish of the genus Perca and of several
other allied genera of the family Percid[ae], as the
common American or yellow perch (Perca flavescens syn.
Perca Americana), and the European perch (Perca
fluviatilis).
[1913 Webster]
2. Any one of numerous species of spiny-finned fishes
belonging to the Percid[ae], Serranid[ae], and related
families, and resembling, more or less, the true perches.
[1913 Webster]
Black perch.
(a) The black bass.
(b) The flasher.
(c) The sea bass.
Blue perch, the cunner.
Gray perch, the fresh-water drum.
Red perch, the rosefish.
Red-bellied perch, the long-eared pondfish.
Perch pest, a small crustacean, parasitic in the mouth of
the perch.
Silver perch, the yellowtail.
Stone perch, or Striped perch, the pope.
White perch, the Roccus Americanus, or Morone
Americanus, a small silvery serranoid market fish of the
Atlantic coast.
[1913 Webster]