barnacle Meaning & Definition
What Does Barnacle Mean?
As a noun, barnacle means A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that attaches itself to submerged surfaces such as tidal rocks or the bottoms of ships. It can also mean The barnacle goose. As a verb, it means To connect with or attach.
Barnacle: Key Facts
| Part of speech | noun, verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɑːnəkl̩/ |
| Synonyms | cerriped, barnacle goose and branta leucopsis |
| Plural | barnacles |
| Verb forms | barnacles, barnacling, barnacled |
Barnacle Definition (Noun)
- A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that attaches itself to submerged surfaces such as tidal rocks or the bottoms of ships.
- The barnacle goose.
- In electrical engineering, a change made to a product on the manufacturing floor that was not part of the original product design.
- On printed circuit boards, a change such as soldering a wire in order to connect two points, or addition such as an added resistor or capacitor, subassembly or daughterboard.
- A deprecated or obsolete file, image or other artifact that remains with a project even though it is no longer needed.
(The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)
- An instrument like a pair of pincers, to fix on the nose of a vicious horse while shoeing so as to make it more tractable.
- A pair of spectacles.
- A good job, or snack easily obtained.
- A worldly sailor.
Barnacle as a Verb
- To connect with or attach.
- To press close against something.
Noun
- (in the plural) An instrument like a pair of pincers, to fix on the nose of a vicious horse while shoeing so as to make it more tractable.
- (in the plural) A pair of spectacles.
Synonyms of Barnacle
Barnacle synonyms and antonyms →Barnacle in a Sentence
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Word Forms & Grammar
barnacle (plural barnacles)
barnacle (third-person singular simple present barnacles, present participle barnacling, simple past and past participle barnacled)
Words That Rhyme With Barnacle
Origin of Barnacle
Origin 1: Uncertain, with long-debated origin. From Middle English barnakille, from earlier bernake, bernekke, most likely from Old Northern French bernaque (“barnacle”) (compare French barnache), probably from Medieval Latin barneca (“limpet”), probably from Gaulish (compare Welsh brennig, Irish bairneach), from Proto-Celtic *barannīkos, from *barinā (“rock, rocky ground”) (compare Old Irish barenn (“boulder”)), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H- (“hill, mountain”) + Proto-Celtic *-ākos, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos, *-ḱos; for sense development, compare Ancient Greek λέπας (lépas, “rock”) which gave λεπάς (lepás, “limpet”).
Origin 2: First attestations referred to the goose, with corresponding folklore (q.v.).
Barnacle: Your Questions Answered
Is barnacle a noun or a verb?
Barnacle is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.
What is another word for barnacle?
Close synonyms of barnacle are cerriped, barnacle goose and branta leucopsis. See the full list of barnacle synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of barnacle?
The plural of barnacle is barnacles.
What is the past tense of barnacle?
The past tense of barnacle is barnacled. The present participle is barnacling.