Urchin \Ur"chin\, n. [OE. urchon, irchon, a hedgehog, OF.
ire[,c]on, eri[,c]on, heri?on, herichon, F. h['e]risson, a
derivative fr. L. ericius, from er a hedgehog, for her; akin
to Gr. ?. Cf. Herisson.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A hedgehog.
2. (Zo["o]l.) A sea urchin. See Sea urchin.
3. A mischievous elf supposed sometimes to take the form a
hedgehog. ``We 'll dress [them] like urchins, ouphes, and
fairies.'' --Shak.
4. A pert or roguish child; -- now commonly used only of a
boy.
And the urchins that stand with their thievish eyes
Forever on watch ran off each with a prize. --W.
Howitt.
You did indeed dissemble, you urchin you; but
where's the girl that won't dissemble for an
husband? --Goldsmith.
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.
Urchin fish (Zo["o]l.), a diodon.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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