rock barnacle
noun
See under barnacle1(def 1).
Origin of rock barnacle
First recorded in 1880–85
Words nearby rock barnacle
rocinante,
rock,
rock 'n' roll,
rock and roll,
rock and rye,
rock barnacle,
rock bass,
rock beauty,
rock blenny,
rock bolt,
rock boot
Definition for rock barnacle (2 of 2)
barnacle
1
[ bahr-nuh-kuh l ]
/ ˈbɑr nə kəl /
noun
any marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia, usually having a calcareous shell, being either stalked (goose barnacle) and attaching itself to ship bottoms and floating timber, or stalkless (rock barnacle or acorn barnacle) and attaching itself to rocks, especially in the intertidal zone.
a person or thing that clings tenaciously.
Origin of barnacle
1
1580–85; perhaps a conflation of
barnacle
barnacle goose with Cornish
brennyk, Irish
báirneach limpet, Welsh
brenig limpets, reflecting the folk belief that such geese, whose breeding grounds were unknown, were engendered from rotten ships' planking
OTHER WORDS FROM barnacle
bar·na·cled, adjectiveBritish Dictionary definitions for rock barnacle
barnacle
/ (ˈbɑːnəkəl) /
noun
any of various marine crustaceans of the subclass Cirripedia that, as adults, live attached to rocks, ship bottoms, etc. They have feathery food-catching cirri protruding from a hard shell
See acorn barnacle, goose barnacle
a person or thing that is difficult to get rid of
Derived forms of barnacle
barnacled, adjectiveWord Origin for barnacle
C16: related to Late Latin
bernicla, of obscure origin
Scientific definitions for rock barnacle
barnacle
[ bär′nə-kəl ]
Any of various small marine crustaceans of the subclass Cirripedia that form a hard shell in the adult stage and attach themselves to underwater surfaces, such as rocks, the bottoms of ships, and the skin of whales.