BERNICLE

Noun

bernicle (plural bernicles)

A barnacle goose.

(historical, chiefly, in the plural) A form of torture in which the legs were crushed between pieces of wood.

Source: Wiktionary

Ber"ni*cle, n. Etym: [OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac; prob. fr. LL. bernacula for hibernicula, bernicula, fr. Hibernia; the birds coming from Hibernia or Ireland. Cf. 1st Barnacle.]

Definition: A bernicle goose. [Written also barnacle.] Bernicle goose (Zoöl.), a goose (Branta leucopsis), of Arctic Europe and America. It was formerly believed that it hatched from the cirripeds of the sea (Lepas), which were, therefore, called barnacles, goose barnacles, or Anatifers. The name is also applied to other related species. See Anatifa and Cirripedia.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition