urchin

American  

[ur-chin] / ˈɜr tʃɪn /

noun

1. a mischievous boy.

   Synonyms:

   scamp, rascal

2. any small boy or youngster.

3. sea urchin.

4. either of two small rollers covered with card clothing used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding.

5. Chiefly British Dialect. a hedgehog.

6. Obsolete. an elf or mischievous sprite.

---

urchin British  

/ ˈɜːtʃɪn /

noun

1. a mischievous roguish child, esp one who is young, small, or raggedly dressed

2. See sea urchin heart urchin

3. an archaic or dialect name for a hedgehog

4. either of the two cylinders in a carding machine that are covered with carding cloth

5. obsolete an elf or sprite

---

Etymology

Origin of urchin

1300–50; Middle English urchun, urchon hedgehog < Old North French ( h ) erichon, Old French heriçun < Vulgar Latin *hēriciōn- (stem of *hēriciō ), equivalent to Latin ēric ( ius ) hedgehog + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Sea urchins play a crucial role in the ocean, acting as ecosystem engineers much like large grazers on land.

From Science Daily

Penelope was losing patience, but she was also beginning to feel sorry for this urchin.

From Literature

The robot plucked sea stars and sea urchins and sea snails from the water and dropped them into rock pools along the shore.

From Literature

Visitors to Puglia, a major producer of durum wheat, can try handmade pastas in a variety of shapes, paired with broccoli rabe, sea urchin and even a horse ragù.

From The Wall Street Journal

But when wasting disease in effect wiped out their main predator, the sea urchins exploded in number, decimating kelp forests and transforming once-lush underwater habitats into so-called urchin barrens.

From Los Angeles Times