limpet
/ˈlɪm.pɪt/ noun, verb
Forms limpets limpeting limpeted limpin
- noun Any of various gastropods with a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot that they use to create strong suction to cling onto rocks or other hard surfaces.
- noun (UK) Someone clingy or dependent; someone disregarding or ignorant of another's personal space. “He stuck to me like a limpet all day!”
- verb To gather limpets.
Etymology
From Middle English lempet, from Old English lempedu (“lamprey”), borrowed from Medieval Latin lampreda, alteration of Late Latin lampetra (“lamprey”), whose further origin is unknown, though is traditionally thought to derive from lambō (“to lick, lap”) + petra (“stone, rock”). Doublet of lamprey, which came through Old French.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “limpet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details