urchin Hear it!

urchin definition

ur·chin (ʉr′c̸hin)

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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.
Related Discussions (2)
TopicRepliesLatest Post
URCHIN31 year ago
Urchin136 years ago

Browse Forums