Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “barnacle” come from?

Barnacle comes from Middle English barnakille, from Middle English bernake, from Old Northern French bernaque, of unknown ultimate origin.

barnacle (English): A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia...

Definitions

  1. A marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia...

Ancestry of “barnacle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbarnakille—
2Middle Englishbernake—
3Old Northern Frenchbernaquebarnacle

Words derived from “barnacle”

  • barnacled
  • barnaclelike
Every word from Old Northern French bernaque →