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barnacle Definition

bar·na·cle (bär′nə kəl)

noun

  1. barnacle goose
  2. any member of various orders of saltwater cirriped crustaceans that cement themselves to rocks, wharves, ship bottoms, etc. and to other animals, as whales, after a free-swimming larval stage
  3. a person or thing hard to get rid of

Etymology: ME bernacle, earlier bernak < MIr bairnech & Bret bernik, kind of shellfish: ult. via Gaul *berna, split < IE base *bher-, to slit

barnacle Related Forms

bar′·na·cled adjective

barnacle Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • encrust: Here you can see the barnacle encrusted Alum Bay wooden gun carriage wheel brought up by divers in 2002.
  • include: With these teeth they are able to enjoy a mixed menu of shelled animals including barnacles, other crustaceans, and mollusks.
  • scrape: Must be like scraping barnacles from an oil tanker.
  • remove: PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats!
  • attach: A curriculum can be like a boat with barnacles attached.
  • collect: You collect spyware as you surf the net just as a ship collects barnacles.

Preposition: on

hull: Ironically the infestation of barnacles on yacht hulls - which the paint was designed to prevent - does not happen in fresh water.

Adjective modifier

  • parasitic: The knobs or protuberances on the head are enlarged hair follicles and are often full of parasitic barnacles and lice.
  • other: Dustin followed up, removing the other barnacle in similar fashion.
  • small: The stone was encrusted with small barnacles, suggesting that it had been under water before its re-use in the fort construction.
  • eulittoral: Upper eulittoral Barnacles and limpets present in quantity or with dense Fucus spiralis in sheltered locations.

Modifies a noun

  • goose: On tuesday I came accross a barnacle goose in Combe Haven valley.
  • larva: Free living barnacle larvae are chemically attracted to barnacle shells and tend to settle among established adults.
  • semibalanus: My PhD is concerned with the supply of benthic larvae ( namely the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides ) to adult populations.
  • balanoides: My PhD is concerned with the supply of benthic larvae ( namely the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides ) to adult populations.
  • shell: Within the barnacles shell however lives a tiny shrimp-like animal which is attached to the rock by a tough glue.
  • population: Increased local density of grazers inhibits barnacle populations in the immediate vicinity.

Noun used with modifier

  • acorn: The shape of the plates, vary between acorn barnacle species so providing a good means of identification.
  • goose: It was during this time that the legend of the " goose barnacle " started.
  • adult: The adult Barnacles are glued head down to the rock.