urchin

[ ur-chin ]

/ ˈɜr tʃɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR urchin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a mischievous boy.

any small boy or youngster.

sea urchin.

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

Chiefly British Dialect. a hedgehog.

Obsolete. an elf or mischievous sprite.

Nearby words

urbanology, urbi et orbi, urbiculture, urc, urceolate, urchin, urd, urdu, urdé, ure, urea

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

SYNONYMS FOR urchin

1 rascal, scamp.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR urchin ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for urchin

Despite enjoying singing, and a tiny role as ‘Urchin No. 30’ in a production of Oliver!
Eddie Redmayne’s Star-Making Turn|Marlow Stern|December 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The urchin stood before them, taking them in thoroughly with his sharp little eyes.
The Mascot of Sweet Briar Gulch|Henry Wallace Phillips
On a pile head sat an urchin fishing, with a long bamboo pole many sizes too large for him.
The Rules of the Game|Stewart Edward White
“As long as I have responsibility for the urchin——” said Miss Dionysia.
In the Roar of the Sea|Sabine Baring-Gould

In his gentle voice he said that the Urchin could not possibly be drowned.
The Treasure of the Isle of Mist|W. W. Tarn
Next he is seen an urchin on the street playing with marbles and jack-knives, absorbed and forgetful of the world around him.
The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors|Kersey Graves

British Dictionary definitions for urchin

urchin

/ (ˈɜːtʃɪn) /

noun

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

See sea urchin, heart urchin

an archaic or dialect name for a hedgehog

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

obsolete an elf or sprite

Word Origin for urchin

C13: urchon, from Old French heriçon, from Latin ēricius hedgehog, from ēr, related to Greek khēr hedgehog

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