barnacle

barnacle
\ \ [12] The term barnacle was originally applied to a type of goose, Branta leucopsis, which according to medieval legend grew on trees or on logs of wood. Various fanciful versions of its reproductive cycle existed, among them that it emerged from a fruit or that it grew attached to a tree by its beak, but the most tenacious was that it developed inside small shellfish attached to wood, rocks, etc by the seashore. Hence by the end of the 16th century the term had come to be applied to these shellfish, and today that is its main sense. The word was originally bernak (it gained its -le ending in the 15th century) and came from medieval Latin bernaca, but its ultimate source is unknown.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Barnacle — Bar na*cle, 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Barnacle — ist die englische Bezeichnung für Rankenfußkrebse (Cirripedia) Barnacle Goose, die englische Bezeichnung der Weißwangengans (Branta leucopsis) eine Alienspezies aus Half Life ein Charakter aus dem X Men Universum Barnacle ist der Familienname… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • barnacle — early 13c., species of wild goose; as a type of shellfish, first recorded 1580s. Often derived from a Celtic source (Cf. Bret. bernik, a kind of shellfish), but the application to the goose predates that of the shellfish in English. The goose… …   Etymology dictionary

  • barnacle — [bär′nə kəl] n. [ME bernacle, earlier bernak < MIr bairnech & Bret bernik, kind of shellfish: ult. via Gaul * berna, split < IE base * bher , to slit] 1. BARNACLE GOOSE 2. any member of various orders of saltwater cirriped crustaceans that… …   English World dictionary

  • Barnacle — Bar na*cle, n. [See {Bernicle}.] A bernicle goose. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Barnacle — Bar na*cle, n. [OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac, and Prov. F. (Berri) berniques, spectacles.] 1. pl. (Far.) An instrument for pinching a horse s nose, and thus restraining him. Note: [Formerly used in the sing.] [1913 Webster] The barnacles …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • barnacle — index parasite Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • barnacle — s. m. 1.  [Ornitologia] Ave aquática de arribação. 2. Ganso do mar …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • barnacle — ► NOUN ▪ a marine crustacean which attaches itself permanently to underwater surfaces. DERIVATIVES barnacled adjective. ORIGIN Latin bernaca …   English terms dictionary

  • Barnacle — For other uses, see Barnacle (disambiguation). Barnacles Temporal range: Mid Cambrian–Recent …   Wikipedia

  • Barnacle — Créatures de Half Life Les créatures de Half Life, célèbre série de jeux vidéo, sont souvent d origine extra terrestre. Sommaire 1 Xenofaune 1.1 Écosystème 1.2 Espèces primitives 1.2.1 Barnacles …   Wikipédia en Français

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