barnacle Definition
bar·na·cle (bär′nə kəl)
noun
- barnacle goose
- 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
- 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
Browse dictionary entries near barnacle
- ‹ Barnaby
- ‹ Barnabas
- ‹ barn swallow
- ‹ barn owl
- ‹ barn dance
- ‹ barn
- ‹ barmy
- ‹ Barmecide (feast)
- ‹ barman
- ‹ barmaid

