limpet

English

Alternative forms

limpin (dialectal)

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 (“I lick, lap”) + petra (“stone, rock”). Doublet of lamprey, which came through Old French.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlɪm.pɪt/
Audio (UK) (file)
* Rhymes: -ɪmpɪt

Noun

Common limpets (Patella vulgata) in Pembrokeshire, Wales

limpet (plural limpets)

A small mollusc, of the family Patellidae with a conical shell found clinging to rocks in the intertidal zones of rocky shores.
(Britain) Someone clingy or dependent; someone disregarding or ignorant of another's personal space.
He stuck to me like a limpet all day!

Derived terms

limpet mine

Translations

a small mollusc

Basque: lapa (eu)
Breton: brennigenn (br) f
Catalan: pagellida f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 帽贝 (mào bèi), 帽貝 (mào bèi), 笠螺 (lì luó), 笠贝 (lì bèi), 笠貝 (lì bèi)
Cornish: brenigen
Czech: přílipka f
Danish: albueskæl n
Dutch: napslak f
Finnish: maljakotilo
French: patelle (fr) f, lampotte (fr) f
Galician: lapa (gl) f, patela f
German: Napfschnecke f
Greek: πεταλίδα (el) f (petalída)
Ancient: λεπάς f (lepás)
Hungarian: csészecsiga, tapadókagyló
Irish: bairneach m
Italian: patella f
Korean: 삿갓조개 (satgatjogae)
Latin: mītulus m
Macedonian: прилепец m (prilepec)
Maori: ngākihi, kākihi, piritoka
Norman: baîni m (Jersey), fllie f (Guernsey)
Portuguese: lapa (pt) f
Russian: блю́дечко (моллю́ск) n (bljúdečko (molljúsk)), морско́е блю́дечко (morskóje bljúdečko)
Scottish Gaelic: bàirneach m
Serbo-Croatian: priljepak (sh) m
Spanish: lapa (es) f
Swedish: skålsnäcka c
Vietnamese: con sao sao
Welsh: llygad maharen m, cragen maharen f, brenigen f, cogwrn m

someone dependant

Catalan: paparra (ca) f
Finnish: iiliäinen (fi)
Galician: lapa (gl) f
German: Anhang (de) m, Anhängsel (de) n
Hungarian: pióca (hu), kullancs (hu), bogáncs (hu), függelék (hu)
Serbo-Croatian: priljepak (sh) m

References

Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “limpet”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

timple