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urchin Definition

ur·chin (ʉrc̸hin)

noun

  1. Archaic a hedgehog
  2. sea urchin
  3. a small child, esp. a boy, who is poor, ragged, etc. and often mischievous or undisciplined
  4. Obsolete an elf

Etymology: ME irchoun < OFr heriçun < L ericius, hedgehog < er, hedgehog, for earlier *her < IE base *ĝher-, to bristle, be stiff > L horrere, to bristle, Gr chēr, porcupine

urchin Synonyms

urchin

n.

youngster, rogue, waif, brat, imp; see also child.

urchin Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • fossilize: A Pret a Manger soy sauce bottle in the shape of a fish sits comfortably next to a fossilized sea urchin.
  • include: Other fossils include the sea urchins ( echinoids ), which occur in a number of varieties.
  • find: The fossil of a sea urchin found in Middlesex is said to be 70 million years ord.
  • see: The webmaster has childhood memories here of fisherman mending their nets and seeing urchins being prepared for eating.
  • form: The fossil is part of a test ( internal shell ) of a sea urchin formed about 85 million years ago.
  • have: By what instinct has the urchin acquired this skill?

Adjective modifier

  • spiny: In other parts the rocks were totally bare from having been grazed by massive numbers of spiny sea urchins.
  • little: Once in the lock up to 10 little urchins came to watch the proceedings.
  • young: Newcomer Oliver Golding does a believable and charming job as the young urchin Ewin, tho he's clearly not a native Scot.
  • small: As Trimus and the others walked to the guard house, small street urchins ran along beside and behind begging for tales not coins.
  • black: Marine life is made up of crustaceans, echinoderms, spiny black sea urchins and a resident school of spotted sweetlips.
  • edible: Underwater you'll find plenty of anemones, Ross corals and edible sea urchins.

Modifies a noun

  • spine: Not all urchin spines are suitable for this work.
  • outfit: I only ordered yesterday afternoon the urchin outfit for my son who is dressing up as Oliver for his school book week.
  • shell: If one holds an empty urchin shell and lifts it to the light, the bandings of small pin size holes will be seen.
  • egg: A classical biology course will cover in vitro fertilization of urchin eggs and their observation.
  • plate: Although composed of a single crystal of calcite, a sea urchin plate exhibits a bicontinuous morphology with pores of diameter 10-15 micron.

Noun used with modifier

  • sea: In coastal areas there can also be painful results from standing on sea urchins or contact with the spines of certain fish.
  • street: The chalk artist saw in the little street urchin what nobody else saw - a potential masterpiece!
  • heart: At Torre Abbey Sands some erosion took place, exposing the forest bed and digging out many heart urchins.
urchin Quotes

Now we lament one Who danced on a plume of words, Sang with a fountain's panache, Dazzled like slate roofs in sun After rain, was flighty as birds And alone as a mountain ash. The ribald, inspired urchin Leaning over the lip Of his world, as over a rock pool Or a lucky dip, Found everything brilliant and virgin.

—Day-Lewis, Cecil

Browse dictionary entries near urchin

  1. urceolate
  2. urbia
  3. urbi et orbi
  4. urbanologist
  5. urbanized
  6. urbanize
  7. urbanity
  8. urbanite
  9. urbanism
  10. urbane
  1. urd
  2. Urdu
  3. -ure
  4. urea
  5. urea-formaldehyde resin
  6. urease
  7. uredinium
  8. uredo
  9. uredospore
  10. uredostage