[from a popular belief that the goose grew from the crustacean]: any of numerous marine crustaceans (subclass Cirripedia) with feathery appendages for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but permanently fixed (as to rocks, boat hulls, or whales) as adults
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The worms have been known to take on roommates such as barnacles and sponges and other small ocean creatures.—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025 In the 18th century, copper was used by the Royal Navy to protect wooden ships from barnacles and shipworms.—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2025 The drumlin islands feature diverse ecosystems including salt marshes, sandy beaches, sea-grass beds, tidal pools, mudflats, grasslands and hardwood forests—alongside a wide range of wild animals and marine life, including mussels, barnacles and dozens of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025 Facebook now has daily videos of certain marine animals completely covered in barnacles.—Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for barnacle
Word History
Etymology
Middle English barnakille, alteration of bernake, bernekke
: any of numerous small saltwater crustaceans with feathery outgrowths for gathering food that are free-swimming as larvae but as adults are permanently fastened (as to rocks or the bottoms of ships)
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