Porcupine

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɔː(ɹ)kjʊˌpaɪn/

Definitions

1. A large rodent covered with sharp, barbed quills that it can detach as a defense mechanism against predators
2. A spiky rodent equipped with sharp, detachable quills for protection against threats
3. A quill-covered mammal of the rodent family whose barbed spines serve as an effective defense against predators

Etymology: The animal's name is a compound that translates literally as "spine pig," and English took it from French in the Middle Ages. Middle English "porke despyne" came from Old French "porc-espin," which joined Latin "porcus," meaning "pig," with "spinus," meaning "spine." The same pairing turns up across the Romance languages: Spanish "puercoespín," Italian "porcospino," and Portuguese "porco-espinho" all describe the animal in nearly identical terms. The pig part is the less obvious one. Medieval European writers saw the rodent's bristling back and thick body as something like a pig's, even though the two animals are unrelated. The English form then shed its French shape and settled into the modern spelling, with the "pig" element changing its sound over the centuries while the sense of a spiny, pig-like creature stayed fixed.

Synonyms: quill pig