definitions

rock barnacle

noun

See under barnacle1(def 1).

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Nearby words

rocinante, rock, rock 'n' roll, rock and roll, rock and rye, rock barnacle, rock bass, rock beauty, rock blenny, rock bolt, rock boot

Origin of rock barnacle

First recorded in 1880–85

Definition for rock barnacle (2 of 2)

barnacle

1
[ bahr-nuh-kuh l ]
/ ˈbɑr nə kəl /

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.

Origin of barnacle

1
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
Related formsbar·na·cled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for rock 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 Formsbarnacled, 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

Science definitions for rock 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.