[bar.na.cle] n [ME barnakille, alter. of bernake, bernekke] (15c) 1: barnacle goose
2. [fr. 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 -- bar.na.cled adj