bar·na·cle (bär n -kl)n. 1. Any of various marine crustaceans of the subclass Cirripedia that in the adult stage form a hard shell and remain attached to submerged surfaces, such as rocks and ships' bottoms. 2. The barnacle goose. [Middle English, barnacle goose, from Old French bernacle, from Medieval Latin bernacula, diminutive of bernaca, perhaps from Old Irish báirneach, limpet.] bar na·cled adj.Word History: The word barnacle is known from as far back as the early 13th century. At that time it did not refer to the crustacean, as it does nowadays, but rather to a species of waterfowl presently known as the barnacle goose; more than 300 years went by before barnacle was used to refer to the crustacean. One might well wonder what the connection between these two creatures is. The answer lies in natural history. Until fairly recent times, it was widely believed that certain animals were engendered spontaneously from particular substances. Maggots, for instance, were believed to be generated from rotting meat. The barnacle goose breeds in the Arctic, a fact not known for a long time; since no one ever witnessed the bird breeding, it was thought to be spontaneously generated from trees along the shore, or from rotting wood. Wood that has been in the ocean for any length of time is often dotted with barnacles, and it was natural for people to believe that the crustaceans were also engendered directly from the wood, like the geese. In fact, as different as the two creatures might appear to us, they share a similar trait: barnacles have long feathery cirri that are reminiscent of a bird's plumage. This led one writer in 1678 to comment on the "multitudes of little Shells; having within them little Birds perfectly shap'd, supposed to be Barnacles [that is, barnacle geese]." In popular conception the two creatures were thus closely linked. Over time the crustacean became the central referent of the word, and the bird was called the barnacle goose for clarity, making barnacle goose an early example of what we now call a retronym. |
barnacle [ˈbɑːnəkəl]
n
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) 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
[related to Late Latin bernicla, of obscure origin]
barnacled adj
| barnacle (bärn-kl) 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. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  barnacle - marine crustaceans with feathery food-catching appendages; free-swimming as larvae; as adults form a hard shell and live attached to submerged surfacescrustacean - any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton Cirripedia, subclass Cirripedia - barnacles acorn barnacle, Balanus balanoides, rock barnacle - barnacle that attaches to rocks especially in intertidal zones goose barnacle, gooseneck barnacle, Lepas fascicularis - stalked barnacle that attaches to ship bottoms or floating timbers |
| 2. |  barnacle - European goose smaller than the brant; breeds in the far northgoose - web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks Branta, genus Branta - wild geese |
Translations
barnacle [ˈbɑːrnɪkəl] n (= shellfish) → anatife m, bernache f
barn conversion n
barn conversion n
(= building project) → aménagement m d'une grange
(= event) → bal m campagnard
barnacle
n
(fig, = person) → Klette f (inf)
barnacle [ˈbɑːnəkl] n → cirripede m
barnacle [ˈbɑːnəkl] n → cirripede m
barnacle [ˈbɑːnəkl] n → cirripede m
n barnacle [ˈbaːnəkl]
a kind of small shellfish that sticks to rocks and the bottoms of ships. eendmossel البَرْنَقيل: حَيَوانات بَحْريّه تَعْلَق بالصُّخر والسُّفُن малко ракообразно животно, което се прикрепя към дъното на кораб vilejš stvolnatý rur die Entenmuschel πεταλίδα percebe nuivähk نوعی نرم تن صدف دار؛ سرخاب kotilo bernacle בָּעַל-חָיִים הַנִצמַד לְתַחתִית כְּלֵי-שָׁיִט दाब lupar kacsakagyló teritip, remis hrúðurkarl crostaceo dei cirripedi ふじつぼ 코집게 polipas jūraspīlīte teritip eendemossel rankefotinger, andeskjell pąkla lapa (tip de) scoică морская уточка fúzonôžka rakec vitičnjak; lopar lopar långhals เพรียงที่เกาะตามวัตถุใต้น้ำ yapışıkça 藤壺 вусоногий рак بارنکل مچھلی con hàu 藤壶
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