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porcupine
[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn ]
/ ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪn /
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noun
any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile spines or quills, as Erethizon dorsatum of North America.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use porcupine in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for porcupine
porcupine
/ (ˈpɔːkjʊˌpaɪn) /
noun
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 of porcupine
porcupinish, adjectiveporcupiny, adjectiveWord Origin for porcupine
C14 porc despyne pig with spines, from Old French porc espin; see pork, spine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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