urchin

urchin
\ \ [13] Urchin originally meant ‘hedgehog’.
\ \ It was borrowed from Old Northern French herichon, which came via Vulgar Latin *hēriciō from Latin hērīcius or ērīciushedgehog’, a derivative of ērhedgehog’. This ancestral sense now survives only dialectally, but its spiny connotations are preserved in sea urchin, which dates from the late 16th century. The metaphorical ‘dirty scruffy child, brat’ emerged in the 16th century too. The second syllable of caprice goes back to Latin ērīcius.
\ \ Cf.CAPRICE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Urchin — or urcheon is the old English term for hedgehog. As such, it is applied to many things that take a similar form to a hedgehog: * Sea urchins are spiny sea creatures that are round and prickly like hedgehogs. * In old theater, urchin was a common… …   Wikipedia

  • Urchin — Группа Urchin 1977 год. Адриан Смит в центре Основная информация …   Википедия

  • Urchin — Datos generales Nacimiento 1974 Origen Inglaterra …   Wikipedia Español

  • 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.) …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Urchin — steht für: Urchin (Software), Anwendung zur Analyse von Zugriffen auf Webseiten Urchin (Band), eine Band von Dave Murray und Adrian Smith Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Urchin — Ur chin, a. Rough; pricking; piercing. [R.] Helping all urchin blasts. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • urchin — (n.) late 13c., yrichon hedgehog, from O.N.Fr. *irechon (Cf. Picard irechon, Walloon ireson, Hainaut hirchon), from O.Fr. herichun hedgehog (Mod.Fr. hérisson), formed with dim. suffix on from V.L. *hericionem, from L. ericius hedgehog, from PIE… …   Etymology dictionary

  • urchin — ► NOUN 1) a mischievous child, especially a raggedly dressed one. 2) archaic a goblin. 3) a sea urchin. ORIGIN Old French herichon hedgehog , from Latin hericius …   English terms dictionary

  • urchin — [ʉr′chin] n. [ME irchoun < OFr heriçun < L ericius, hedgehog < er, hedgehog, for earlier * her < IE base * ĝher , to bristle, be stiff > L horrere, to bristle, Gr chēr, porcupine] 1. Archaic a hedgehog 2. SEA URCHIN 3. a small… …   English World dictionary

  • urchin — [n] mischievious youngster brat*, cub, dickens*, gamin, imp, juvenile delinquent, punk*, pup*, ragamuffin, waif; concept 423 …   New thesaurus

  • urchin — /err chin/, n. 1. a mischievous boy. 2. any small boy or youngster. 3. See sea urchin. 4. either of two small rollers covered with card clothing used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding. 5. Chiefly Brit. Dial. a hedgehog. 6. Obs. an elf… …   Universalium

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