barnacle

¹ American  

[bahr-nuh-kuhl] / ˈbɑr nə kəl /

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 American  

[bahr-nuh-kuhl] / ˈbɑr nə kəl /

noun

1. Usually barnacles. an instrument with two hinged branches for pinching the nose of an unruly horse.

2. British Dialect. barnacles, spectacles.

---

barnacle British  

/ 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 Scientific  

/ 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.

---

Other Word Forms

• barnacled
  adjective

Etymology

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; see barnacle goose

Origin of barnacle²

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

Explanation

A barnacle is a spineless animal that looks like a small circular white rock. You'll often find barnacles attached to the bottom of boats. Barnacles are crustaceans, which means they're related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp, all of which have an external shell. In the case of barnacles, their shells attach to things like rocks, other shells, docks, and boats, and stay there permanently, filtering food from shallow ocean water through feathery appendages. The earliest use of the word referred to a European goose whose mythology described it hatching from the marine crustacean that eventually took its name.

Example Sentences

Barnacle geese make a temporary but essential home on Svalbard at the end of their long migratory journey, said Karen Beard, coauthor on the research from the Department of Wildland Resources.

From Science Daily • Dec. 14, 2023

The comedian who won four Emmys on Carol Burnett’s variety show, starred aboard "McHale’s Navy" and voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for "SpongeBob SquarePants" died in 2019 at age 85.

From Fox News • Dec. 5, 2021

Barnacle "celebrates the Italian aperitivo bar in a jewel box space with wines by the glass and all things canned, pickled, smoked, and cured."

From Salon • Jul. 30, 2021

You can, however, take it to a table a few steps away inside an adjoining business called the William Barnacle Tavern.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2019

The young Barnacle when just extruded from the shell of its parent is a very different being from that which it will be in its mature condition.

From Sea Monsters Unmasked and Sea Fables Explained by Lee, H. W. (Henry William)