barnacle goose

noun

a wild goose, Branta leucopsis, of northern Europe and Greenland.

Origin of barnacle goose

1760–70; earlier barnacle, Middle English bernacle; compare Middle French bernacle, New Latin bernacula, all derivative of earlier Middle English bernak, bernekke, Anglo-Latin bernaca, Old French bernaque, of uncertain origin

Words nearby barnacle goose

barn swallow, barn-door skate, barnabas, barnaby, barnacle, barnacle goose, barnard, barnard's star, barnardo, barnaul, barnave

Example sentences from the Web for barnacle goose

  • In France, the barnacle-goose may be eaten on fast days, by virtue of this old belief in its fishy origin.

    Folk-lore of Shakespeare |Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer

  • This barnacle-goose tree was a great article of faith with our ancestors in the Middle Ages.

    Myth-Land |F. Edward Hulme

British Dictionary definitions for barnacle goose

barnacle goose

noun

a N European goose, Branta leucopsis, that has a black-and-white head and body and grey wings
a former name for brent goose

Word Origin for barnacle goose

C13 bernekke, related to Late Latin bernaca, from the belief that the goose developed from a shellfish; ultimate origin obscure