barnacle goose
noun
a wild goose, Branta leucopsis, of northern Europe and Greenland.
Words nearby barnacle goose
barn swallow, barn-door skate, barnabas, barnaby, barnacle, barnacle goose, barnard, barnard's star, barnardo, barnaul, barnave
Origin of barnacle goose
1760–70; earlier barnacle, Middle English bernacle; compare Middle French bernacle, New Latin bernacula, all derivative of earlier Middle English bernak, bernekke, Anglo-Latin bernaca, Old French bernaque, of uncertain origin
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for barnacle goose
In France, the barnacle-goose may be eaten on fast days, by virtue of this old belief in its fishy origin.
Folk-lore of Shakespeare|Thomas Firminger Thiselton-DyerThis barnacle-goose tree was a great article of faith with our ancestors in the Middle Ages.
Myth-Land|F. Edward Hulme
British Dictionary definitions for barnacle goose
barnacle goose
noun
a N European goose, Branta leucopsis, that has a black-and-white head and body and grey wings
a former name for brent goose
Word Origin for barnacle goose
C13 bernekke, related to Late Latin bernaca, from the belief that the goose developed from a shellfish; ultimate origin obscure
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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