urchin

== English == === Alternative forms === urchon (obsolete) === Etymology === From Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog; sea urchin”), from Old Northern French irechon, from Vulgar Latin *ērīciōnem, from Latin ērīcius. Compare modern French hérisson, whence the English doublet herisson. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɜːtʃɪn/, /ˈɜːtʃən/ (General American) enPR: ûrʹchĭn, IPA(key): /ˈɝt͡ʃɪn/, /ˈɝt͡ʃən/ Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃɪn Hyphenation: ur‧chin, urchin === Noun === urchin (plural urchins) A mischievous child. A street urchin, a child who lives, or spends most of their time, in the streets. A sea urchin. 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. (historical) A neutron-generating device that triggered the nuclear detonation of the earliest plutonium atomic bombs. (obsolete) A hedgehog. (obsolete) A mischievous elf supposed sometimes to take the form of a hedgehog. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Urchin”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume X, Part 1 (Ti–U), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, pages 454–455. === Anagrams === chunri, unrich