barnacle
/ˈbɑɹnəkl̩/
Frequency: 2.55 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that attaches itself to submerged surfaces such as tidal rocks or the bottoms of ships.
noun
The barnacle goose.
noun
In electrical engineering, a change made to a product on the manufacturing floor that was not part of the original product design.
Slang
noun
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.
Slang
noun
A deprecated or obsolete file, image or other artifact that remains with a project even though it is no longer needed.
Slang
noun
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.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "Tokuda went over everything his grandfather had taught him, including the commentary that had barnacled on to the core knowledge."
- "To dream that some things just barnacle to your heart, and it might take years, or it might always just be there."
- "He turned a corner to where he supposed the cupboard might be, to find Howie and Alanna barnacled together in an embrace."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: barnakille, bernaque, barneca, -, *barannīkos, *gʷr̥H-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɑɹnəkl̩/
- British English: /ˈbɑːnəkl̩/