barnacle

¹

[ bahr-nuh-kuhl ]

noun

1. any marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia, usually having a calcareous shell, being either stalked goose barnacle and attaching itself to ship bottoms and floating timber, or stalkless rock barnacle, or acorn barnacle and attaching itself to rocks, especially in the intertidal zone.
2. a person or thing that clings tenaciously.

barnacle

²

[ bahr-nuh-kuhl ]

noun

1. Usually barnacles. an instrument with two hinged branches for pinching the nose of an unruly horse.
2. barnacles, British Dialect. spectacles ( def 3 ).

barnacle

/ ˈbɑːnəkəl /

noun

1. any of various marine crustaceans of the subclass Cirripedia that, as adults, live attached to rocks, ship bottoms, etc. They have feathery food-catching cirri protruding from a hard shell See acorn barnacle goose barnacle
2. a person or thing that is difficult to get rid of

barnacle

/ bär′nə-kəl /

1. Any of various small marine crustaceans of the subclass Cirripedia that form a hard shell in the adult stage and attach themselves to underwater surfaces, such as rocks, the bottoms of ships, and the skin of whales.

Derived Forms

• ˈbarnacled, adjective

Other Words From

• barna·cled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of barnacle¹

First recorded in 1580–85; perhaps a conflation of barnacle “barnacle goose” with Cornish brennyk, Irish báirneach “limpet,” Welsh brenig “limpets,” reflecting the folk belief that such geese, whose breeding grounds were unknown, were engendered from rotten ships' planking; barnacle goose

Origin of barnacle²

1350–1400; Middle English bernacle bit, diminutive of bernac < Old French < ?

Word History and Origins

Origin of barnacle¹

C16: related to Late Latin bernicla , of obscure origin

Example Sentences

And his company has also found that coatings applied to commercial ships do not always prevent barnacles and other sea life from attaching themselves to the hull.

From BBC

Her giant head and white pectoral fins - fringed with barnacles - are visible as she slowly floats beneath us.

From BBC

Researchers learned that sessile invertebrates -- those that stay in one place, such as mussels and barnacles -- became more abundant during the study period, while seaweed species like kelps declined.

From Science Daily

Or that the people with an unhealthy obsession are those who cling to Trump like a barnacle, making daily excuses for his misogyny, his fascism, his babbling incoherence, and his staggering number of criminal indictments.

From Salon

In the UK, rising sea temperatures are having an impact, with a number of creatures having vanished completely from coastal locations - some barnacle species, for example.

From BBC