barnacle

[ bahr-nuh-kuhl ]

/ ˈbɑr nə kəl /

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See synonyms for barnacle on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

a person or thing that clings tenaciously.

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Origin of barnacle

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

OTHER WORDS FROM barnacle

bar·na·cled, adjective

Words nearby barnacle

bar mitzvah, barmy, barn, Barnabas, Barnaby, barnacle, barnacle goose, Barnard, Barnardo, Barnard's star, Barnaul

Other definitions for barnacle (2 of 2)

barnacle²

[ bahr-nuh-kuhl ]

/ ˈbɑr nə kəl /

noun

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

barnacles, British Dialect. spectacles (def. 3).

Origin of barnacle

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use barnacle in a sentence

Turtle-riding barnacles moved as much as 54 millimeters — a little less than the length of an adult human’s thumb — during this time.
Barnacles are famed for not budging. But one species roams its sea turtle hosts|Jake Buehler|October 14, 2021|Science News
His favorite example was a parasitic barnacle, named the Sacculina, which starts life as a segmented organism with a demarcated head.
Drugs, Robots, and the Pursuit of Pleasure: Why Experts Are Worried About AIs Becoming Addicts|Thomas Moynihan|September 17, 2021|Singularity Hub
The biocide paint tributyltin, known as TBT, protected Shell tankers from accruing algae, barnacles and mussels, but it also caused female murex mollusks to change their gender, impairing their ability to spawn.
The human history found inside a seashell|Katharine Norbury|July 30, 2021|Washington Post
Yet this group of arthropods also includes less-than-appetizing barnacles, woodlice, krill and plankton.
Explainer: Insects, arachnids and other arthropods|Curtis Segarra|January 19, 2021|Science News For Students

Rinse the mussels, scrape the exteriors of any that have little barnacles on them, and pull or cut off any beards.
Mussels are simple to prepare, and add tasty drama to the table|Martha Holmberg|October 29, 2020|Washington Post
Playing an aging superhero named Merman (with sidekick Barnacle Boy), Borgnine takes on the “champion of the deep.”
The Best of Ernest Borgnine: ‘Marty,’ ‘McHale’s Navy’ & More (VIDEO)|The Daily Beast Video|July 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Barnacle is always upside down in its home, and its twelve feathery legs are thrust out of the door at the top.
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith
Those which come into contact with sea water will be treated with a barnacle-proof preparation.
The Panama Canal|Frederic Jennings Haskin
Here are to be found every species known to the Eastern states, except the barnacle brant of the Atlantic.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast|Harry Thom Payne
They resemble the barnacle brant of the Atlantic (Branta barnicla) except in the shape of the head and bill.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast|Harry Thom Payne
And that is the way the old sea-barnacle spent his declining years, dying at the tropic isle on July 16th, 1732.
Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea|Charles H. L. Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for barnacle

barnacle

/ (ˈbɑːnəkəl) /

noun

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 shellSee acorn barnacle, goose barnacle

a person or thing that is difficult to get rid of

Derived forms of barnacle

barnacled, adjective

Word Origin for barnacle

C16: related to Late Latin bernicla, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for barnacle

barnacle

[ bär′nə-kəl ]

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.

barnacle

Origin of barnacle

OTHER WORDS FROM barnacle

Words nearby barnacle

Other definitions for barnacle (2 of 2)

Origin of barnacle

Words related to barnacle

How to use barnacle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barnacle

Derived forms of barnacle

Word Origin for barnacle

Scientific definitions for barnacle