urchin

urchin
  (ˈɜːtʃɪn)
  Forms: α. 4 vrchun, 4–5 vrchon (5 nurchon, norchon), 4–6 urchone, 5 vrchone, vrchoun(e, 6–7, 8–9 dial. urchon, 7 urchan. β. 5–7 urchen, 6 vrchen, vrchyn, 6–7 vrchin (7 -ine, urching), 7– urchin; 5 norchen, 6, 9 dial. orchen. γ. 5 vrchion (9 dial. urchion), 6 vrcheon, 5, 7, 9 dial. urcheon. δ. 7 orchant, ourchant, 9 dial. urchint, -ont, -ant, -unt.
  [var. of hurcheon and irchin, agreeing in vowel with the former, and with the latter in the dropping of h.]
  A. n.
  1. a. = hedgehog 1.

α a 1340 Hampole Psalter ciii. 19 The stone fleyng til vrchuns [L. petra refugium herenacijs]. 1382 Wyclif Lev. xi. 5 An vrchon, that chewith kude,..is vnclene. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3135 Like sharp vrchouns his here was growe. 1480 Caxton Chron. England 53 b, Till that his body Stykked as full of arewes as an vrchone is full of prikkes. a 1500 in Rel. Ant. I. 81 A norchon by tho fyre rostyng a greyhownde. 1530 Palsgr. 285/2 Urchone a beest, herysson. 1676 Grew Musæum, Anat. Stomach & Guts ii. 8 The Gulet of an Urchan enters the Stomach towards the middle. 1683 in W. S. Banks Walks Yorks. (1871) 43 To March lad for one urchon, [{pstlg}]0 0 2. 1750 J. Collier (Tim Bobbin) Lanc. Dial. Wks. (1862) p. xxxvii, Od rottle the; whot seys to? Hes to foryeat'n th' Tealier finding th' Urchon; an th' Rimes? 1876– in Westm., Yks., and Lancs. dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.).

β c 1425 St. Christina x. in Anglia VIII. 123/28 In þe maner of an vrchyn þe lumped body ȝode to þe owne shappe. 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 700 Hic urunacius,..a urchen. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Fly iii. 32 To grounde he shranke Like an vrchyn vnder an aple tree. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vii. 683 Thou Sluggard,..Go learn the Emmet's and the Urchin's Art. 1624 Burton Anat. Mel. (ed. 2) ii. iii. vii. 291 As a Tortoise in his shell,..or an Vrchin round... I decline their fury and am safe. a 1653 G. Daniel Idyll v. 98 Stript Porcupine May to an Vrchin, of his wants complaine; Well-thatcht, gainst Winter's Stormes. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 290 However here are Salmon.., and the Urchin..under the Hedges and Trees of an Orchard. 1779 Gentl. Mag. 350 The poor persecuted creature to which I allude is the Hedge-hog or Urchin. 1813 Bingley Anim. Biog. (ed. 4) I. 349 Urchins..feed, for the most part, on roots, worms, and the larvæ of insects. 1863 Atkinson Stanton Grange 218 Sae, I reckon, it is with the urchin. 1867 Emerson May-day 306 The pebble loosened from the frost Asks of the urchin to be tost.

γ 14.. in Rel. Ant. I. 51 Tak the grees of an urcheon, and the fatte of a bare. c 1475 Cath. Angl. 404/2 Vrchion, erecius, erinacius. 1522 Skelton Why not to Court 163 They are..Lyke vrcheons in a stone wall. 1895 J. K. Snowden Web of Weaver x, We had no more to liven us than an urcheon has in winter-time.

δ 1665–6 Ormskirk Churchw. Acc. (Lanc. & Chesh. Hist. Soc.) Ser. iii. VI. 174 Paid Thos. Mawdsley for one orchant and one kyde [= kite], 00lb. 01s. 06d. 1682 in W. S. Banks Walks Yorksh. (1871) 43 Paid for 21 ourchants and 7 fylomots, [{pstlg}]0 5 10. 1883 Almondbury Gloss., Urchint, a hedgehog. 1891 Sheffield Gloss. Suppl. 62 Urchont, a hedgehog.

  b. Applied allusively to persons (see quots.).

1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 12 But Agrippa was an urcheon, Copernicus a shrimpe, Cardan a puppy,..Cuiacius a bable to this Termagant. 1594 Selimus K i, Enter Selimus..at one door, and Acomat.., Vizier, and their soldiers at another. Sel. What are the vrchins crept out of their dens, Vnder the conduct of this porcupine? 1632 Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age i. i. B 2 b, Ther[sites]. By the gods Wee haue two meeting soules: be my sweete Vrchin. Syn[on]. I will, And thou shalt bee mine vgly Toade.

  † c. A goblin or elf. (From the supposition that they occas. assumed the form of a hedgehog.)

1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. vii. xv. 122 They have so fraied us with bull beggers, spirits, witches, urchens, elves,..that [etc.]. 1592 Nashe Four Lett. Confut. K j b, The Fairies and night Vrchins. 1594 ― Terrors of Night H j b, An old wiues tale of diuells and vrchins. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. iv. 49. 1614 Hawking, etc. 7 in T. Ravenscroft Briefe Disc., By the moone we sport and play;..Trip it, little Vrchins all, Lightly as the little little bee.

  2. transf. † a. Applied to the porcupine. Obs.

c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxi. 143 Þere ben also vrchounes als grete as wylde swyn here; wee clepen hem Porcz de Spyne.

  b. A sea-urchin or sea-hedgehog; = echinus 1.

1601 Holland Pliny I. 253 Of the same sort that the Crabs be, are the Vrchins of the sea called Echini. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 230 Urchin... The ashes of the shells help sordid ulcers. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. II. 381 The violet-coloured urchins, armed with points and spears. 1845 Gosse Ocean vi. (1849) 277 The irregular movements of the spined urchins. 1853 Anne Pratt Common Things Sea-Coast v. 308 The Purple-tipped Urchin (Echinus miliaris). Ibid., Heart urchins, and Fiddle-heart urchins, and Cake urchins; names all expressive of the shape.

  † c. U.S. = urson. Obs. rare.

1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 201 The Urchin, or Urson,..is commonly called Hedgehog or Porcupine, but differs from both those animals.

  3. One who is deformed in body; a hunchback. Now dial.

1528 Roy Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 43, I trowe the vrchyn will clyme To some promocion hastely. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 278 In English, a Hedghog, or an vrchine: by which name also we call a man that holdeth his Necke in his bosome. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Urchin,..a Dwarf. 1821 Scott Kenilw. ix, A queer, shambling, ill-made urchin, who, by his stunted growth, seemed about twelve or thirteen years old. 1824 Byron Def. Transf. i. i, Bert. Out, hunchback! Arn. I was born so, mother!.. Bert. Out, urchin, out! 1891 Sheffield Gloss. Suppl. 62 Urchont, a hump⁓backed person.

  4. a. A pert, mischievous, or roguish youngster; a brat.

c 1530 Calisto & Melib. B i, Come hydyr, thou lytyll fole let me see the:..What lytyll vrchyn hast forgotyn me? 1599 Breton Miseries Mauillia Wks. (Grosart) II. 37/1 Come on, you urchen, you will never come to good. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. iii. 125, I could not tell to what extremity such a malicious urchin might have carried his resentment. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., Thou lile urchin thou!

  b. poet. Applied to Cupid.

1709 Prior Venus Mistaken ii, Who's blind now Mamma? the Urchin cry'd. 1713 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 515 The urchin..Took aim, and shot with all his strength A dart. 1799 Southey Love Elegies iii. v, From you, sweet locks! he wove the subtile line Wherewith the urchin angled for my Heart. 1805 Andrew Scott Poems 184 Cupid, blind urchin.

  5. a. A little fellow; a boy or youngster; † a child or infant.
  In frequent use from c 1780. Often applied with commiserative force to children poorly, raggedly, or untidily clothed.

1556 J. Heywood Spider & Fly C ij, Will ye have this urchin, of eyght weekes olde? It is a babling brat above all other. 1600 Nashe Summers Last Will E ij, Learne of him, you deminitiue vrchins, howe to behaue your selues in your vocation. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche ix. cxlv, As for thy Lord, He term'd him Josephs Brat, The silly Carpenter's poor Urcheon. 1683 Kennett Erasm. on Folly 82 Looking big upon the trembling Urchins. 1790 Cowper Let. to Mrs. Throckmorton 10 May, He sent an urchin (I do not mean a hedgehog,..but a boy, commonly so called). 1799 Sheridan Pizarro ii. i, The little darling urchin robs me, I doubt, of some portion of thy love, my Cora. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. xviii, And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 11 The tone of insolent superiority assumed by even the gutter urchins over their dusky companions. 1892 Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker iii. 42 [He] took a fancy to the urchin [and] carried him on with him in his wandering life.

  † b. Applied to a literary production. Obs. rare.

1589 [? Lyly] Pappe w. Hatchet E ij, This is the Epistle which he woonders at himselfe, and like an olde Ape hugges the Vrchin so in his conceipt, as [etc.]. 1813 H. & J. Smith Horace in London 89 Then may new Drury's widely yawning pit O'erwhelm thy urchin, and engulph thy muse.

  † c. transf. An offspring of hell, etc. Obs. rare.

1584 Harsnet Serm. Ezek. (1658) 129 How can he but hate him?..the childe of Darkness,..the Urchin of Hel? 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche x. xxix, Unhappy Saturninus, how hast thou Prov'd thine own selfe an urcheon of Damnation!

  † 6. a. An ugly or uncomely woman; a hag. rare.

1657 Thornley tr. Longus' Daphnis & Chloe 203 It is incredible that of such an old Churle, and such an Urchin as his Wife, there should come a child so fair.

  † b. A girl or young woman, esp. of an ill-tempered or roguish disposition. Obs.

1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1182/2 What eyleth this gyrle? that eluish vrchin weneth I wer a diuell I trow. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man ii. i, You did indeed dissemble, you urchin you; but where's the girl that won't dissemble for a husband? a 1777 ― Epilogue to ‘The Sisters’ 23 The little urchin smiles, and spreads her lure, And tries to kill, ere she's got power to cure.

  7. techn. (See later quots.)

1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 167 By this repeated transfer from one cylinder-card or urchin to another..the filaments become separated and expanded. 1839 ― Dict. Arts 348 Some cards consist entirely of cylinders, the central main cylinder being surrounded by a series of smaller ones called urchins or squirrels. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2684/1 Urchin, one of a pair of rapidly revolving small card cylinders, arranged around the periphery of a large card drum.

  8. a. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 1 c) † urchin blast, † urchin show; (sense 7) urchin card, urchin cylinder; urchin-like adj., urchin-snouted ppl. adj.; † urchin cockle (see quot.); † urchin crowfoot, the ranunculus, R. arvensis; urchin cut, a short style of haircut for women; also as ppl. adj., and urchin hair-cut; urchin fish, (a) the sea-urchin; (b) the porcupine-fish or sea-porcupine; urchin-form, the form or form-type of an echinus; † urchin lump-fish, † mushroom, † rind, † star-fish, † -worm (see quots.).

1634 Milton Comus 845 Helping all *urchin blasts, and ill luck signes That the shrewd medling Elfe delights to make.

1851 Gordon Art Jrnl. Illustr. Catal. p. iv**/2 The large card-drum is generally surmounted by *urchin or squirrel cards instead of tops.

1688 Holme Armoury ii. 339/1 Concha Echinata,..a Cockle covered or set with pricks. An *Urchin Cockle.

1578 Lyte Dodoens 420 White Crowfoote, or *Urchin Crowfoote.

1951 *Urchin cut [see cut n.2 17 a]. 1958 Woman's Own 4 June 9/1 She was long-limbed, slender, her shining hair urchin-cut. 1958 Woman 11 Oct. 32/3 She was small and boyish, with urchin-cut hair. 1979 N. Freeling Widow v. 26 A small girl with an urchin face and an urchin-cut.

1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 168 When the fibres have been thus thoroughly teazed out by..*urchin cylinders.

1566 Drant Horace, Sat. iv. G 8 b, Whence purple coloure flowes..from Micen *vrchen fishe. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 343/2 The Globe Star fish..is by some Authors termed the Urchin fish, or Sea Urchin. 1773 Gentl. Mag. 220 The Urchin or Hedgehog Fish. 1863 Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. III. 337 The Urchin-Fish or Sea Hedgehog is a good example of the genus Diodon, or Two-toothed fishes.

1878 F. J. Bell Gegenbaur's Comp. Anat. 198 The decrease in size of the antambulacral surface..will give us the *Urchin-form.

1958 ‘E. Dundy’ Dud Avocado i. vii. 132 A lot of rather gorgeous..girls floating around with *urchin hair-cuts.

1708 Kersey, *Urchin-like Rind, the outward Husk of the Chesnut. 1855 Gosse Man. Marine Zool. i. 63 Round depressed urchin-like disks.

1688 Holme Armoury ii. 337 The *Urchin, or Hedghog Lump fish, hath its skin set with more sharper and longer pricks.

c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. x. xcii, *Urchin Mushroom:..From its roughness underneath.

1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 85/1 The *urchin rind, is the cover of the Chestnut. [Cf. urchin-like.]

1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 5 But they [sc. spirits] 'll nor pinch, Fright me with *Vrchyn-shewes, pitch me i' th mire [etc.].

1592 ― Ven. & Ad. 1105 This foule, grim, and *vrchin-snowted Boare.

1688 Holme Armoury ii. 349/2 An *Urchin Star-fish; this is a Star-fish of five long and slender Rays.

1668 Charleton Onom. 53 Echini,..*Vrchin-Worms.

  b. Appositive or as adj., as urchin article, urchin bitch, urchin deity, urchin messenger, urchin prince.

1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. xxiv. (1553) T vij, I feare me when I here once that vrchin bitche bark, I shal..for⁓geat altogether. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams ii. (1693) 91 Our Bishop..made himself merry with the Conceit, how easie it was to stride over such Urchin Articles. No man would find leisure to read the whole 36, they are so frivolous. 1818 Hazlitt Eng. Poets ii. (1870) 53 The triumph of Cupid at the mischief he has made is worthy of the malicious urchin deity. 1826 Scott Woodst. xxxii, The urchin messenger entered the hall, making several odd bows. 1830 Ld. Lyttelton in Lady L.'s Corr. (1912) 259 The two urchin Princes..in little Hussar dresses.

  Hence ˈurchiness, a female urchin (= sense 4 above); ˈurchinly a., of the nature of, resembling, an urchin.

1852 Househ. Words V. 378/2 Many were the names of urchins and *urchinesses..which decked the plaster walls of Broad-Bumble school.

1654 New Brawle 11 Like a feeble *Vrchinly Rascall as thou art. 1834 Fraser's Mag. IX. 741 Applying a foot to the part of his urchinly person corresponding with that particular department of Sir John Doyle.

Oxford English Dictionary