barnacle

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: bar=na=cle

CIDE DICTIONARY

barnacle, n. [Prob. from E. barnacle a kind of goose, which was popularly supposed to grow from this shellfish; but perh. from LL. bernacula for pernacula, dim. of perna ham, sea mussel; cf. Gr. pe`rna ham. Cf. F. bernacle, barnacle, E. barnacle a goose; and Ir. bairneach, barneach, limpet.].

 Any cirriped crustacean adhering to rocks, floating timber, ships, etc., esp. (a) the sessile species (genus Balanus and allies), and (b) the stalked or goose barnacles (genus Lepas and allies). See Cirripedia, and Goose barnacle.  [1913 Webster]

Barnacle eater (Zoöl.), the orange filefish. -- Barnacle scale (Zoöl.), a bark louse (Ceroplastes cirripediformis) of the orange and quince trees in Florida. The female scale curiously resembles a sessile barnacle in form.

barnacle, n. [See Bernicle.].

 A bernicle goose.  [1913 Webster]

barnacle, n. [OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac, and Prov. F. (Berri) berniques, spectacles.].

•  An instrument for pinching a horse's nose, and thus restraining him.

  "[Formerly used in the sing.]"  [1913 Webster]

  "The barnacles . . . give pain almost equal to that of the switch."  [1913 Webster]
•  Spectacles; -- so called from their resemblance to the barnacles used by farriers.  Dickens.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

barnacle, n.
1 any of various species of small marine crustaceans of the class Cirripedia which in adult form cling to rocks, ships' bottoms, etc.
2 a tenacious attendant or follower who cannot easily be shaken off.

Idiom

barnacle goose an Arctic goose, Branta leucopsis, which visits Britain in winter.

Derivative

barnacled adj.

Etymology

ME bernak (= med.L bernaca), of unkn. orig.

THESAURUS

barnacle

adherent, adhesive, beat, bloodsucker, bramble, brier, bulldog, burr, cement, deadbeat, decal, decalcomania, freeloader, glue, gunk, hanger-on, leech, limpet, lounge lizard, molasses, mucilage, parasite, paste, plaster, prickle, remora, smell-feast, spiv, sponge, sponger, sticker, sucker, syrup, thorn