erinaceous

American

[er-uh-nay-shuhs] / ˌɛr əˈneɪ ʃəs /

adjective

Zoology.

of the hedgehog kind or family.

erinaceous British

/ ˌɛrɪˈneɪʃəs /

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling hedgehogs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of erinaceous

< Latin ērināce ( us ) hedgehog + -ous

Explanation

Erinaceous means relating to or resembling hedgehogs. If you ever encounter one of these spiky critters while walking in the woods, you could call it a close encounter of the erinaceous kind! The word erinaceous is used mostly in zoology books or articles, where it can be used to discuss hedgehogs themselves or to hedgehog-like features of other animals. Those attributes could include having short, stiff spines or quills that radiate outward, or the defense mechanism of rolling into a tight ball when feeling threatened. The word is sometimes used figuratively to describe people who are prickly (as in cranky, irritable, or difficult) or very timid (as in having a defensive, shy demeanor).

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023