Urchin

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɜːtʃɪn/

Definitions

1. A playful or mischievous young child often found outdoors ; a small marine animal with a round body covered in sharp spines
2. A cheeky or impish youngster sometimes causing mild trouble ; a sea creature known for its hard, spiky outer shell and slow movements
3. A scrappy kid usually from a poorer area and prone to mischief ; an ocean-dwelling echinoderm protected by needle-like spines

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "urchin" is that it once meant a hedgehog. Middle English "yrchoun" and "irchoun" referred to the spiny mammal, and the sea creature got its name by resemblance: its needle-covered shell looked like a hedgehog's coat. The kid sense came later, applied to a scruffy, mischievous child in much the same way one might call a small troublemaker a little hedgehog. The chain behind it runs through Old Northern French "irechon", which came from a reconstructed Vulgar Latin form, "*ērīciōnem", based on the classical Latin "ērīcius", meaning hedgehog. French kept the animal's name as "hérisson", and English later borrowed that same word as "herisson", a doublet that survives mainly as a rare term for the hedgehog itself.

Synonyms: rascal, scamp, imp, child, waif

Antonyms: angel, saint, paragon, model, hero