porcupine

[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn ]

noun

1. any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile spines or quills, as Erethizon dorsatum of North America.

porcupine

/ ˈpɔːkjʊˌpaɪn /

noun

1. any of various large hystricomorph rodents of the families Hystricidae, of Africa, Indonesia, S Europe, and S Asia, and Erethizontidae, of the New World. All species have a body covering of protective spines or quills

Derived Forms

• ˈporcuˌpinish, adjective
• ˈporcuˌpiny, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcupine¹

1375–1425; late Middle English porcupyne, variant of porcapyne; replacing porke despyne < Middle French porc d'espine thorny pig. See pork, spine

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcupine¹

C14 porc despyne pig with spines, from Old French porc espin; see pork , spine

Example Sentences

After Red Bench, it became a skeleton woods, the trees charred but standing, their bare, blackened trunks rising like porcupine quills across the land.

From Outside Online

Titmice — and one chickadee — have been caught on video tugging hair from dogs, cats, humans, raccoons and even a porcupine.

From Science News

Soon after, Pieciul spotted what he first thought was a “cute porcupine” 50 feet away.

From Outside Online

The ATC recommends using bear canisters, which also protect supplies from mice, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, and other nocturnal visitors.

From Outside Online

These forces can be represented as one arrow or two arrows, or a whole slew of arrows bristling from the airplane, porcupine fashion.

From Popular-Science

He is the author of Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, and African Psycho, among others.

From The Daily Beast

My heart was racing, my hands felt like they were covered with porcupine quills.

From The Daily Beast

One day, the porcupine has had enough, and turns to writing a memoir.

From The Daily Beast

Mabanckou pairs the porcupine with a Congolese boy, who attacks and kills neighbors and strangers with little provocation.

From The Daily Beast

The Kutchin make pretty pipe-stems out of goose-quills wound about with porcupine-quills.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Van Britt blew his cheeks out until the stubby, cropped mustache bristled like porcupine quills.

From Project Gutenberg

From the Jim Crow a drowsy porcupine trundled away bristling.

From Project Gutenberg

The porcupine, meanwhile, had found something that interested him.

From Project Gutenberg

Only the porcupine was quite undaunted by the strange sounds.

From Project Gutenberg