- Urchin
- Urchin Ur"chin ([^u]"ch[i^]n), n. [OE. urchon, irchon, a
hedgehog, OF. ire[,c]on, eri[,c]on, heri[,c]on, herichon, F.
h['e]risson, a derivative fr. L. ericius, from er a hedgehog,
for her; akin to Gr. chh`r. Cf. {Herisson}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A hedgehog.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zo["o]l.) A sea urchin. See {Sea urchin}. [1913 Webster]
3. A mischievous elf supposed sometimes to take the form a hedgehog. ``We 'll dress [them] like urchins, ouphes, and fairies.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
4. A pert or roguish child; -- now commonly used only of a boy. [1913 Webster]
And the urchins that stand with their thievish eyes Forever on watch ran off each with a prize. --W. Howitt. [1913 Webster]
You did indeed dissemble, you urchin you; but where's the girl that won't dissemble for an husband? --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
5. One of a pair in a series of small card cylinders, arranged around a carding drum; -- so called from its fancied resemblance to the hedgehog. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
{Urchin fish} (Zo["o]l.), a diodon. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
