porcupine

porcupine
\ \ [14] The porcupine is etymologically a ‘spiny pig’. Its name was coined in Vulgar Latin as *porcospīnus from Latin porcus ‘pig’ (source of English pork) and spīnus ‘spine’. It came to English via Old French porc espin. It underwent all sorts of traumas (portpen, porpoynt, porpentine – the form used by Shakespeare: the ghost of Hamlet’s father speaks of the ‘quills upon the fretful porpentine’ – porkenpick, porpin, etc) before finally settling down in the 17th century to porcupine, and around 1700 the fanciful variant porcupig was coined.
\ \ Cf.⇒ PORK, SPINE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Porcupine — ist der englische Ausdruck für Stachelschweine weiter der Name Peter Porcupine, Pseudonym von William Cobbett Porcupine Tree (wörtlich übersetzt: Stachelschweinbaum), 1987 gegründete Progressive Rock Band aus England um Gitarrist, Sänger und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Porcupine — Por cu*pine, n. [OE. porkepyn, porpentine, OF. porc espi, F. porc [ e]pic (cf. It. porco spino, porco spinoso, Sp. puerco espino, puerco espin, fr. L. porcus swine + spina thorn, spine). The last part of the French word is perhaps a corruption… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Porcupine — Porcupine, SD U.S. Census Designated Place in South Dakota Population (2000): 407 Housing Units (2000): 103 Land area (2000): 9.493955 sq. miles (24.589229 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000):… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Porcupine, SD — U.S. Census Designated Place in South Dakota Population (2000): 407 Housing Units (2000): 103 Land area (2000): 9.493955 sq. miles (24.589229 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 9.493955 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • porcupine — [pôr′kyə pīn΄] n. pl. porcupines or porcupine [ME porkepyn < MFr porc espin, spinous hog, spine hog < OIt porcospino < L porcus, pig (see FARROW1) + SPINE] any of a terrestrial Old World family (Hystricidae) or an arboreal New World… …   English World dictionary

  • Porcupine [1] — Porcupine (spr. Porkjupein), Peter, pseudonym von William Cobbett …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Porcupine [2] — Porcupine, 1) P. Mountains (spr. Porkjupein Maunt ns), Gebirge in der nördlichen Halbinsel von Michigan (Nordamerika), ausgezeichnet durch Mineralreichthum (namentlich Kupfer); 2) P. River (spr. Porkjupein Riww r), Fluß im Territory Nebraska,… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Porcupine — (spr. pórkjupain, engl., »Stachelschwein«), Pseudonym. s. Cobbett …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Porcupine —   [ pɔːkjʊpaɪn], Goldbergbaugebiet (seit 1907) im Osten der Provinz Ontario, Kanada; Hauptort ist Timmins …   Universal-Lexikon

  • porcupine — c.1400, porke despyne, from O.Fr. porc espin (early 13c.), lit. spiny pig, from L. porcus hog + spina thorn, spine. The word had many forms in M.E. and early Mod.E., including portepyn, porkpen, porkenpick, porpoynt, and Shakespeare s porpentine… …   Etymology dictionary

  • porcupine — ► NOUN ▪ a large rodent with defensive spines or quills on the body and tail. ORIGIN from Latin porcus pig + spina thorn …   English terms dictionary

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