barnacle
/ˈbɑːnəkl/noun
1- a marine crustacean with an external shell, which attaches itself permanently to a variety of surfaces. Barnacles feed by filtering particles from the water using their modified feathery legs.藤壶。
1.1
- Class Cirripedia.
1.2
- used in similes to describe a tenacious person or thing用于明喻 难以摆脱的人, 纠缠不休的追随者; 难以摆脱的东西, 积习:
buses careered along with men hanging from their doors like barnacles.
一辆辆汽车疾驰而过, 车门上都藤壶似的紧紧攀着人。
派生词
barnacled
adjective词源
late 16th cent.: from medieval Latin bernaca, of unknown origin. In Middle English the term denoted the barnacle goose, whose breeding grounds were long unknown and which was believed to hatch from the shell of the crustacean to which it gave its name.