barnacle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a marine crustacean with a shell that attaches itself permanently to surfaces such as rocks or ship hulls

   The ship's hull was covered in barnacles after months at sea.

2. 2
   noun

   a person or thing that clings tenaciously, or an obstacle difficult to remove

   He was like a barnacle, never leaving her side.

From Old French barnacle ('species of goose'), via Middle English bernacle; originally a type of goose, later transferred to the marine crustacean owing to a mistaken belief about its life cycle.

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