definitions

porcupine

[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn ]
/ ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪn /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR porcupine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

RELATED WORDS

wench, fury, siren, hussy, bitch, hellion, carper, detractor, vixen, virago, nag, scold, battle-ax, biddy, harridan, harpy, madcap, termagant, backbiter, she-devil

Nearby words

porcellaneous, porch, porch pirate, porcine, porcino, porcupine, porcupine anteater, porcupine fish, porcupine grass, porcupine provisions, porcupine river

Origin of porcupine

1375–1425; late Middle English porcupyne, variant of porcapyne; replacing porke despyne < Middle French porc d'espine thorny pig. See pork, spine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for porcupine

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

porcupinish, adjectiveporcupiny, adjective

Word 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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012