urchin

[ur-chin]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of urchin¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of urchin¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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

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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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sunflower sea stars used to prey on the urchins, keeping them in check.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One of their most important roles is controlling purple sea urchin populations, a species with a notoriously voracious appetite.

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