barnacle English · revision 1033

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɑːnəkl̩/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɑɹnəkl̩/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bernacle]], earlier ''bernake'', ''bernekke'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) the name of a wild goose, from Anglo-Latin ''bernaca'' and Old French ''bernaque'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) of unknown origin.^(Etymonline) A Celtic source has often been proposed, such as [[sga|báirnech|t=limpet]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) but the Celtic words for limpets may be later borrowings from English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Random House suggests a conflation of the goose name with the Celtic limpet words.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A species of wild goose of the Arctic seas, now the [[barnacle goose]] (before 1217 in Barnhart; before 1227 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Since the goose bred unseen in the Arctic, it was believed from ancient times until the late 17th century to develop from the shellfish, whose feathery stalks looked like goose down.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) The name passed from the goose to the shellfish by 1581.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Figuratively, a companion who sticks close and cannot be shaken off was called a barnacle from 1607.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) A separate, older ''barnacle'' (c. 1200) is a bit or twitch to restrain a horse,^(OED 1989) and in the plural, colloquially, a pair of spectacles (1571).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1217 – the wild goose.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – a twitch for restraining a horse (a different word).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1571 – ''barnacles'', spectacles.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1581 – the shellfish.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1607 – a companion who clings.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various marine [[crustacean|alt=crustaceans]] of the subclass Cirripedia that, as adults, form a hard shell and remain fixed to rocks, ships' bottoms and other submerged surfaces.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[barnacle goose]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person or thing that clings tenaciously.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # An instrument for pinching the nose of an unruly horse; also, ''barnacles'', spectacles.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[barnacled]]

+ * [[barnacle goose]]

+ * [[goose barnacle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[limpet]]

+ * [[goose]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}