See Also: Barnacle(medicine)
barnacle(1)(dictionary)
barnacle(2)(dictionary)
barnacle(encyclopedia)
barnacle(dictionary)
barnacle goose(encyclopedia)

barnacle(2) (iou)



barnacle noun2. LME.
[Alt. of Anglo-Norman bernac, of unkn. origin.]
A kind of bit or twitch for restraining a horse or ass; spec. an instrument of two branches joined by a hinge, placed on the nose of the animal. Usu. in pl. LME.
In pl. Spectacles. arch. & dial. L16.
An instrument of torture fashioned and applied like a barnacle (sense 1 above). Usu. in pl. obsolete exc. Hist. E17.
barnacled adjective2 (arch. or dial.) wearing spectacles E18.