urchin
urchin Lexical Profile
urchin Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A marine echinoderm of the class Echinoidea, having a spherical or flattened shell covered in sharp, mobile spines.
"While snorkeling over the coral reef, she was careful not to step on a purple urchin resting in the crevice."
A mischievous young child, especially one who is poorly or raggedly dressed.
"A group of street urchins darted through the cobblestone alleyways, laughing as they chased a stray dog."
A hedgehog.
"In Renaissance literature, the term urchin was frequently used to describe the prickly hedgehog foraging in the garden."
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'irchon', borrowed from Old Northern French 'irechon', from Late Latin 'ericionem' meaning 'hedgehog'. The word originally meant 'hedgehog' in English; it later became applied to a poorly dressed, mischievous child, and to the 'sea urchin' (literally 'sea hedgehog') due to its spiny appearance.